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Border Patrol arrested a man illegally present in the United States after he elbowed an agent in the face during a struggle that occurred Monday, according to a criminal complaint.
Jovel Gonzalez Cabrera was charged with assaulting, resisting or impeding certain officers or employees with infliction of bodily injury.
On Monday, two Border Patrol agents responded to a sensor alarm utilized to detect illegal crossings near Havana where they discovered footprints and other signs that someone had passed through the area.
The agents began to track the group.
After about two hours, the pair were able to catch up to the group of people suspected of illegally crossing the border.
The agents then closed in on a suspected group of people who were hiding in the brush, according to the complaint.
They approached the location where the agents believed the group was hiding and noticed a man, later identified as Cabrera, hiding underneath the brush.
One agent first acted as if he didn’t see Cabrera in order to give the other time to arrive at the scene, but Cabrera began to stand up from underneath the brush before that agent arrived.
The agent already on scene then grabbed Cabrera, who the agent believed was attempting to flee, and a struggle ensued as they both fell into the brush.
The two continued to struggle as the agent attempted to wrestle Cabrera’s hands behind his back in order to control and handcuff him.
The agent gave Cabrera commands in Spanish to calm down and to give the agent his hands, but Cabrera was able to break free and fled a short distance.
After chasing Cabrera, the agent was able to grab him from behind and continued the struggle but Cabrera fell once more.
It was then that Cabrera turned and struck the agent in the face with his elbow as he began to stand up while the agent was standing over his back.
The agent fell after being hit and Cabrera continued to flee, according to the complaint.
The agent suffered a cut on his nose from the elbow strike and was treated for his injury at the emergency room at South Texas Health System and later released.
Cabrera was apprehended a short time later by other Border Patrol agents.
He’s set to appear before U.S. Magistrate Judge J. Scott Hacker in McAllen federal court on Thursday for a detention hearing.
