An illegal immigrant living in Laredo, Texas has been sentenced to more than eight years in federal prison for assaulting Border Patrol agents and illegally smuggling humans into the United States.
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Back in March of 2013, Jose Alberto Izquierdo-Gonzalez entered a guilty for recent the charges and Friday during sentencing, a judge was sure to point out his prior criminal record dating all the way back to 2009.
In handing down the sentence, Judge Kazen took note of the defendant’s prior convictions for alien transporting in 2009, entering illegally in the same year, as well as damages to a Border Patrol (BP) unit he rammed while trying to elude apprehension. When asked why he had behaved so recklessly, Izquierdo-Gonzalez simply stated that he had gotten scared and panicked because he did not want to go to jail. Judge Kazen countered by reminding him that he had assaulted BP agents in 2008 and stated to the defendant that he “must have a bad reaction to these arrests…some people are just like that.” He then told Izquierdo-Gonzalez that he now takes “the big prize” by “smashing vehicles…having persons flopping around in the back of the truck” and hitting agents.So what did Izquierdo's latest actions include? Ramming agents, dragging a man behind his truck, transporting illegal immigrants, evading arrest, reckless driving, etc. More from the FBI:
According to court records and testimony presented at this morning’s hearing, BP agents saw Izquierdo-Gonzalez loading persons onto his Ford F-250 truck on January 8, 2013, near the Rancho Viejo Subdivision in Laredo. Upon seeing the agents, Izquierdo-Gonzalez sped away from the riverbanks with aliens in the cab and some in the bed of the truck. One alien who hung onto the truck’s rear bumper was dragged for some distance. After a short pursuit through a residential area involving the truck traveling on residential sidewalks and knocking down a stop sign, he eventually lost control and stopped, facing the agents’ vehicles.
With persons still in the bed of the pickup truck, Izquierdo rammed the BP vehicles, injuring one of the agents. He then sped away until he lost control again and crashed into a nearby ditch. Miraculously, the persons in the bed managed to remain in the truck but were treated for injuries at a local hospital. Izquierdo-Gonzalez was apprehended almost immediately by the agents after abandoning his truck and the passengers. Two of the passengers were identified as aliens illegally in the United States who said they had paid smugglers to get a ride from Izquierdo-Gonzalez.
Izquierdo-Gonzalez maintained not knowing there were persons in the bed of his truck, claiming he was giving a ride to his girlfriend, an undocumented alien who had just crossed from Mexico, and one other person whom he had just picked up.
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