Benavides Man Sentenced for Assault on Federal Officer

U.S. Attorney’s Office
Southern District of Texas
19 October 2017

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

LAREDO, Texas – A 24-year-old resident of Benavides has been ordered to federal prison for assaulting a Border Patrol agent by use of a deadly or dangerous weapon, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Abe Martinez. A federal jury sitting in Laredo convicted Oscar David Gonzalez II on April 12, 2017, after a two-day trial.

Today, U.S. District Judge Marina Garcia-Marmolejo, who presided over the trial, ordered Gonzalez to serve 84 months in federal prison immediately followed by three years of supervised release.

On Dec. 2, 2016, a Border Patrol agent was working highway interdiction on State Highway 16 south of Hebbronville. At approximately 10:20 p.m., he observed a Toyota Camry followed by a Nissan Altima traveling north in tandem at a high rate of speed. The agent positioned his marked unit behind the Camry and observed several subjects in the back seat attempting to hide. Another agent arrived in his marked unit to assist in a traffic stop on both vehicles.

The first agent conducted a traffic stop on the Camry, while the second agent continued following the Altima. As the first agent approached the Camry on foot, Gonzalez drove away in the direction of the second agent and the Altima and intentionally swerved into the driver’s side of the Border Patrol marked vehicle. The collision forced the second agent onto the shoulder of the highway, broke the vehicle’s driver side mirror and scraped the fender. Gonzalez continued driving the Camry north for a couple of miles before he as stopped and taken into custody by additional responding Border Patrol agents.

Border Patrol and the FBI conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney (AUSA) Julian Castaneda and former AUSA Jorge Vela prosecuted the case.