A Guatemalan citizen residing illegally in the United States has been federally charged with assaulting a federal officer after allegedly striking a Deputy U.S. Marshal with his pickup truck during an attempted escape from a traffic stop in Dallas, according to a March 26 announcement by United States Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Ryan Raybould.
The suspect, identified as Senel Galiano Sagastume, 43, was charged by federal complaint on March 24. The complaint states that officers conducted a traffic stop and instructed Sagastume to pull over. When he and his passengers did not comply with orders to roll down their windows, officers broke the truck’s windows. Sagastume then allegedly drove forward in his Chevrolet Silverado, hitting a uniformed Deputy U.S. Marshal and pinning him between vehicles, which resulted in bodily injury and visible damage to the marshal’s uniform.
Following the incident, authorities say Sagastume fled to an apartment complex in Richardson, Texas. He reportedly ran into an apartment unit and was arrested after what officials described as an hours-long standoff.
Sagastume faces up to 20 years in federal prison if convicted of forcibly assaulting a federal officer resulting in bodily injury. He appeared before a United States Magistrate Judge in Dallas on March 25 for his initial court appearance and remains in custody pending further proceedings.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation's Dallas Field Office and the United States Marshal Service are leading the investigation. The prosecution is being handled by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas.
Officials emphasized that criminal complaints are only allegations at this stage and that all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
