Alleged immigrant smuggler is arrested
By Stephen Ceasar
Arizona Daily Star
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 09.04.2008
The vehicle of man suspected of smuggling illegal immigrants collided with two Border Patrol vehicles Tuesday in Nogales while he tried to escape after a struggle with a Border Patrol officer.
Officers approached the man about 3 p.m. at a Jumping Jack gas station, where he had dropped off four illegal immigrants, said Esmeralda Marroquin, Border Patrol Tucson Sector spokeswoman.
After struggling with an agent, the man entered his Ford Crown Victoria and attempted to escape in reverse.
The man smashed into the driver-side door of a Border Patrol vehicle, preventing the agent from getting out through that door.
The man, an illegal immigrant in his mid-20s from Sinaloa, Mexico, then attempted to drive forward but hit a second Border Patrol vehicle. He was unable to continue driving and was arrested.
The agent involved in the scuffle was taken to a hospital for pain from bruised ribs, Marroquin said.
Neither the Sinaloa man nor the second agent was injured.
The Sinaloa man, who was not identified Wednesday, faces charges of illegal-immigrant smuggling and vehicular assault, Marroquin said.
The four illegal immigrants who had been dropped at the gas station were also apprehended.
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