Border Patrol agents in the Tucson Sector had a busy week safeguarding the border, as reported by Chief Patrol Agent John R. Modlin. He also disclosed on social media that a Mexican citizen was recently convicted for assaulting an agent.
Modlin provided an account of the week's events: "Week in Review... 13,800 Apprehensions 89 Federal Criminal Cases 11 Rescues 6 Human Smuggling Events 2 Significant Arrests 2 Narcotics Events A previously removed Mexican citizen was sentenced to prison for assaulting USBP agents near Douglas, AZ."
A news release from the United States Attorney’s Office District of Arizona revealed that Jorge Zazueta-Miranda, a 52-year-old from Agua Prieta, Sonora, Mexico, was sentenced to seven and half years in prison by U.S. District Judge Rosemary Márquez. In June of 2023, Zazueta-Miranda pleaded guilty to assault on a federal officer with a dangerous weapon and will serve his sentences concurrently with previous conviction for illegal re-entry of a removed alien.
According to the same release, Border Patrol agents near Douglas intercepted a truck disguised as a construction vehicle carrying 19 undocumented non-citizens on April 1, 2020. Zazueta-Miranda was driving another pickup and failed to stop when ordered, leading to a high-speed chase through the city, its airport area and onto desert terrain. An agent in a truck attempted to halt Zazueta-Miranda but he turned his vehicle around and drove directly at the agent's truck, colliding with its rear quarter panel.
The release further states that Zazueta-Miranda disengaged his truck from the agent’s vehicle and sped towards a gap in the U.S. border wall where he collided with another agent’s vehicle. He fled the scene along with several undocumented migrants and managed to return to Mexico. Agents were able to identify Zazueta-Miranda through fingerprints found on the driver’s side door and an abandoned, undocumented migrant who identified him from a photograph. On Feb. 9, 2022, Zazueta-Miranda was apprehended near the New Mexico – Mexico border.
