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A Border Patrol agent was assaulted while placing a person illegally present in the United States in custody Friday morning, according to a criminal complaint.
At about 11:18 a.m., Starr County Sheriff’s deputies conducted a traffic stop on a brown GMC Sierra near the intersection of Pipeline Road and Business Highway 83 in Rio Grande City.
Deputies identified the passenger of the Sierra as Oscar Adilio Sanchez Rivera who admitted to being a citizen of El Salvador and admitted to entering the U.S. illegally, according to the complaint.
The deputies subsequently notified dispatch to request assistance from the Border Patrol.
One agent arrived at 11:30 a.m. and assumed custody of Rivera while deputies detained the driver of the Sierra.
The agent placed Rivera in the rear passenger seat of their Border Patrol SUV and instructed Rivera to begin removing his watch and shoe laces while the agent retrieved a property bag from the trunk of their SUV, according to the complaint.
Once the agent returned, Rivera punched them in the face, grabbed their finger, escaped the SUV and began fleeing on foot, the document said.
The agent then tackled Rivera to the ground near the SUV, but Rivera managed to escape and ran away until he was apprehended about 50 yards away by another deputy.
FBI special agents and a task force officer interviewed Rivera once he was taken to the Rio Grande City station.
It was there that Rivera admitted to illegally entering the U.S. the morning of the incident and said he had been previously deported from the country about three months ago.
He added that when he saw the Border Patrol agent dressed in green, he believed them to be part of the military and decided to attempt to escape because he believed he would be deported back to El Salvador.
The agent involved in the incident sought medical attention at a local hospital and was diagnosed with a fractured left index finger as a result of the scuffle, the complaint said.
Rivera appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Juan F. Alanis in McAllen federal court for his initial appearance Monday morning.
