An illegal immigrant who admitted to trying to kill a U.S. Border Patrol agent near the U.S.–Mexico border has been sentenced to more than seven years in prison.
Rey David Marquez-Jimenez, 23, received a prison sentence of 85 months during a hearing in Tucson, Arizona, on Jan. 12.
Marquez-Jimenez, a native of Mexico, also was sentenced to three years of supervised release following the prison term and ordered to pay $99 in restitution for expenses related to the agent’s medical care.
“Our colleagues in the United States Border Patrol have a difficult and sometimes dangerous job,” U.S. Attorney for the District of Arizona Gary Restaino, a Biden appointee, said in a statement.
“Most noncitizens who enter the United States do so peacefully, and with the intention of seeking a better life for their families,“ he added. ”To the small number of undocumented aliens who ignore law enforcement commands and engage in aggressive behavior, be warned: We will vindicate the rights of Border Patrol agents by prosecuting violent offenders commensurate with their unlawful actions.”
According to court documents, Marquez-Jimenez attacked a uniformed Border Patrol agent near Hereford, Arizona, on Jan. 26, 2022. The assault came as the agent tried to handcuff a different person.
Marquez-Jimenez punched the agent multiple times, tried to take control of the agent’s firearm, and slashed at him with a knife.
When the agent gained the upper hand, Marquez-Jimenez tried to flee before being apprehended by border agents.
The struggle lasted about five minutes and was captured by surveillance cameras.
Marquez-Jimenez has been detained since. He was ordered held pending trial by the court in light of factors including that he is illegally in the country and “does not have sufficient ties to the community.”
A grand jury found that Marquez-Jimenez “did willfully, deliberately, maliciously, and with premeditation and malice aforethought, attempt to unlawfully kill” the Border Patrol agent.
The defendant pleaded guilty to attempted murder in October 2022 in exchange for other charges being dropped.
In a plea agreement, the defendant admitted to doing something “that was a substantial step toward killing” the agent and that when he took that step, he “intended to kill” the agent.
The attempted murder charge carries a maximum of 20 years in prison. Under the plea agreement, based on sentencing guidelines, the ceiling for Marquez-Jimenez was set at 108 months.
Prosecutors, calling the attack “unprovoked and vicious,” said in a sentencing memorandum that “were it not for the agent’s physical endurance and prior military training, the defendant would have killed him.” They also said Marquez-Jimenez had no explanation for what he did. But they noted the man’s lack of criminal history in Mexico and his being employed before illegally entering the United States.
Prosecutors asked for 97 months in prison.
Benjamin Aguilera, an attorney representing Marquez-Jimenez, said the attack was “the most significant mistake” of his client’s “relatively young life.” He said that the illegal immigrant is “sincerely apologetic” and hopes one day the agent will forgive him.
“He has never assaulted anyone before and has never been in so much as a fistfight in his lifetime. His unfortunate decision to physically engage the agent in this case set forth a course of action that has forever changed the lives of many people. He is ashamed and embarrassed to find himself before this Honorable Court and humbly asks for forgiveness,” Aguilera said in a sentencing memo.
Marquez-Jimenez attacked the agent in seeking “to free his travel companion from the agent’s control,” according to his lawyer.
The defense asked for a prison sentence of no more than 108 months in prison.
