Honduran Man Convicted for Assault After Getting Shot by Border Patrol Agents

A federal jury in Del Rio, Texas, convicted a previously deported Honduran illegal alien for assaulting two U.S. Border Patrol agents in 2018. The agents were forced to shoot the man in self-defense.

In September 2018, Del Rio Sector Border Patrol agents attempted to arrest a Honduran man, later identified as 49-year-old Leivin Pineda, after he illegally crossed the Rio Grande from Mexico into Texas near Eagle Pass, Breitbart Texas reported at the time.

Agents observed the Honduran man illegally crossing the border and attempted to take him into custody on September 2, 2018. As the agents attempted to arrest the man he fled on foot into the brush. As the agents pursued the subject, Pineda turned and threatened the agents with a stick — waving it in the direction of the agents, according to court documents obtained by Breitbart Texas

He then began to throw softball-sized rocks at the agents’ heads. He repeated the assault several times.

The agents repeatedly issued verbal commands to stop. The agents feared they could be in danger of serious bodily injury or death. One of the agents drew his pistol and fired, striking Pineda in the shoulder area.

Pineda stopped the assault at that point and agents transported him to a San Antonio-area hospital where doctors treated and released the subject.

A press release from U.S. Attorney John F. Bash, Western District of Texas, states Pineda illegally entered the U.S. on at least three previous occasions. Immigration officers last removed him less than three months before the assault took place.

The federal jury found Pineda guilty on January 23 for assaulting a federal agent with a dangerous weapon and illegal re-entry after removal. U.S. District Court Judge Alia Moses will pronounce sentence on the Honduran national later this year, DOJ officials stated. Pineda faces up to 20 years in federal prison on the assault conviction and up to two years for the illegal re-entry conviction.