Rio Bravo man gets consecutive prison terms after Border Patrol agent assault

3 comments

August 18, 2011 8:43 PM

Jared Taylor

McALLEN — An illegal immigrant who rammed into a U.S. Border Patrol vehicle received a 10-year prison sentence on Thursday.

Josue Leonel Torres Benavides, 23, received consecutive five-year prison sentences at a hearing before Chief U.S. District Judge Ricardo Hinojosa in McAllen.

Torres, a Mexican national from Rio Bravo, Tamps., assaulted the agent April 7, 2010, near the Rio Grande in Hidalgo, a criminal complaint states.

Agents said they saw several people carrying bundles after making landfall on the U.S. bank of the river.

The smugglers then left in a van headed north from the river on a levee. Agents tried to cut off the van, which crashed into a Border Patrol vehicle and an unoccupied Hidalgo County Water Improvement District No. 3 truck.

Torres fled the van on foot with a loaded 9 mm pistol he tossed while running from agents. He later was tracked down and arrested.

More than 1,137 pounds of marijuana was seized from the van.

Torres pleaded guilty to charges of assaulting agents, weapons and drug possession on May 10. He has remained in federal custody since his arrest and faces deportation at the end of his prison term.

The Texas Department of Public Safety identified 13 shootings or assaults involving Border Patrol agents in Hidalgo and Starr counties in 2010. Torres’ assault was not included in the DPS records.

http://www.themonitor.com/news/prison-5 ... o-rio.html