Illegal immigrant gets jail time for threat
Forum staff reports, The Forum
Published Saturday, October 11, 2008

An illegal immigrant from Mexico will spend six months in jail and now faces probable deportation for threatening a U.S. Border Patrol agent during an incident in Moorhead.

U.S. District Judge Ralph Erickson imposed the sentence Friday in U.S. District Court against Gonzalo Zapata-Castelan, age 24.

The charge against Zapata-Castelan stemmed from a fight that took place June 1 in the Grand Inn Motel in Moorhead.

A border patrol agent was asked to interview Zapata-Castelan in Spanish. Zapata-Castelan told the agent he was a Mexican citizen.

“I’m illegal. You can send me back to Mexico tomorrow,â€