While many Americans had just finished a Thanksgiving dinner with family, a U.S. Border Patrol agent was reportedly assaulted and injured by an illegal alien who had just crossed the border from Mexico. The illegal alien has been charged in McAllen, Texas.
The agent, identified only as Border Patrol Agent (BPA) A.M., was on a routine linewatch operation Thanksgiving night when he received a report of “illegal alien traffic,” according to a criminal complaint obtained by Breitbart Texas (attached below). The crossing was reported in an area known as District 6 in the Rio Grande Valley sector near the town of Penitas, Texas. This area is just west of the city of Mission, one of the busiest border crossing areas in the sector.
Agent A.M. was searching the area along with the assistance of other agents and a Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) helicopter. They encountered a group of suspects who took off in all directions, the complaint states.
After pursuing some of the illegal aliens, Agent A.M. encountered a suspect who would later be identified as Jorge Alexander Garcia-Burgas, 36. The agent gave the suspect commands in English and Spanish where he identified himself as a border patrol agent and ordered him not to resist. Garcia-Murgas ignored the command, the complaint states.
He became combative with the agent and during the struggle the agent managed to get a handcuff on one wrist of the suspect. The suspect became more combative and began to twist the agent’s wrist in an attempt to overpower the agent so he could escape.
The agent managed to get Garcia-Burgas on the ground, but then felt a tug on his duty belt. He observed the suspect attempting to pull his service pistol from its holster. He was pulling in the proper direction to release the pistol from the retention mechanism built into the holster. At this point, the agent began to fear for his life.
He managed to get control of the suspect’s hand and get it away from his service weapon. At this point, Garcia-Burgas grabbed the lanyard of Agent A.M.’s night vision goggles and allegedly began to choke the agent. The agent told the FBI he was able to feel the chord “cutting pressure into his windpipe.”
He then threw off his night vision goggles and managed to finally subdue the suspect and take him into custody. The agent sustained a cut to his right hand and complained of swelling and pain in his right wrist. The agent chose to visit his regular doctor in lieu of hospital treatment that night.
Garcia-Burgas was questioned at the McAllen Border Patrol Station where he was identified as a citizen of El Salvador. The complaint states the suspect admitted to resisting the agent’s instructions and fighting with him. He also reportedly said he remembered grabbing the agent’s neck during his attempt to escape. He said he did not remember other incidents that happened “in the heat of the moment.”
Garcia-Burgas has been charged with assaulting a federal officer.
Bob Price serves as associate editor and senior political news contributor for Breitbart Texas and is a member of the original Breitbart Texas team. Follow him on Twitter @BobPriceBBTX.
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.