Illegal immigrant will plead guilty in beating of FBI agents
By Adriana M. Chávez For the Sun-News
Posted: 04/21/2009 12:00:00 AM MDT



EL PASO — An Anapra, Mexico, man who was part of a group that brutally beat two FBI agents in 2002 will plead guilty Wednesday to misdemeanor assault, his lawyer said.

The defendant, Juan Jose Magallanes-Torres, was charged in the attacks on agents Samantha Mikeska and Sergio Barrio during an FBI stakeout to catch train thieves in Sunland Park. Prosecutors initially dropped charges against Magallanes-Torres, 33, after immigration officers deported him.

But the U.S. attorney's staff in New Mexico revived the case after Magallanes-Torres illegally re-entered the United States last year, his attorney, Mark D'Antonio, said in an interview Monday. He said Magallanes-Torres is to enter his plea to misdemeanor assault Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Las Cruces.

"Sometimes in these cases, you've got to take a good plea, whether or not it's the exact version of the facts," D'Antonio said. "He believes it's in his best interest to do what he's doing."

Twelve other Mexicans, including eight alleged members of Anapra's Siete Dos gang, also were indicted in the assaults. Prosecutors dismissed charges against most of them because they were deported. Two robbers, though, were convicted in the beatings and sentenced to prison.

The agents were part of a group of law officers patrolling trains to catch the thieves in action. However, they were overwhelmed by more than a dozen robbers.

Carlos Enrique Garcia-Castillo and Carlos Ivan Aguirre confessed to beating the agents. Each was sentenced in 2003 to two years in prison, three years of supervised probation and ordered to pay $76,000 in restitution.
Mikeska received injuries to her left eye and a herniated disc in her neck. Barrio's skull was fractured and he received other injuries that required emergency surgery. Both still work for the FBI, officials said.


Adriana M. Chávez is a reporter for the El Paso Times, a member of the Texas-New Mexico Newspaper Partnership. She may be reached at

www.lcsun-news.com