Illegal immigrant sentenced to 12 years for assault of border agent

Zach Fowle
The Arizona Republic
Feb. 12, 2008 07:04 PM

An illegal immigrant who assaulted a U.S. Border Patrol agent was sentenced to 12 years in federal prison Monday.

Rafael Rivera-Alonzo, 34, from Mexico, was found guilty of numerous charges and was sentenced to a total of 12 years in federal prison by a U.S. District Judge Monday.

Rivera-Alonzo had just crossed the U.S.-Mexico border into San Luis, Ariz., on July 15, 2006, when he was pursued by a Border Patrol Agent. When the agent moved in for the arrest, Rivera-Alonzo wrestled the agent's handgun away and attempted shoot him with it, but the gun had been made inoperable during the struggle. The agent's partner then arrived and the two were able to subdue Rivera-Alonzo.

A federal jury found Rivera-Alonzo guilty of the assault on June 6, and was sentenced to 10 years for the assault on Monday. He also pleaded guilty to a federal charge of Illegal Re-Entry After Deportation, for which he received a term of seven years. This will run concurrently to his 10-year sentence for the assault.