EL PASO, Texas (Border Report) – A federal grand jury has indicted two alleged smugglers accused of ramming a pickup truck against U.S. Border Patrol vehicles during a pursuit in southern Arizona.
Wednesday’s indictment charges Oscar Tapia Castro, a U.S. citizen, and Roney Ulicer Lara Galdamez, a Honduran national, with counts of conspiracy to transport illegal aliens and assault on a federal officer with a deadly or dangerous weapon.
The charges stem from a June 26 incident at a Border Patrol checkpoint on Federal Route 15. That’s when border agents saw a blue Dodge Ram pickup approach at high speed in a southbound direction and “noisily running over” speed bumps meant to protect agents as they inspect vehicles and motorists.
Court records show agents approached the vehicle and made hand motions for the driver to stop. The vehicle came to a stop and agents began questioning Tapia, the driver. He identified himself as a U.S. citizen, but his passenger, Lara, stated he was a lawfully admitted foreign national but did not have his documents on him.
Records show that while agents focused on Lara, the driver called someone on his cell phone, told that person he had been stopped by the police, and asked, “What should I do?”
The agents ordered the driver to a secondary inspection area, but Tapia instead allegedly floored the gas pedal of the Ram.
Two Border Patrol vehicles initiated a pursuit and watched the Ram go off-road into deep brush and swerved to kick up dust to impede the pursuers. When the Ram could go no further over rough terrain, the driver stopped, put it in reverse and rammed the front of one Border Patrol vehicle, then put it in drive and struck the second law enforcement vehicle on the side, according to a complaint affidavit filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona.
The agents were unharmed and continued the pursuit from a distance; the Ram was damaged and its two occupants abandoned it. Border agents took them into custody as they tried to hide in the cab of a vehicle on a nearby farm.
In a post-arrest interview, Tapia said he was driving from Phoenix to Nogales to “meet some girls.” He said he passed through the checkpoint because he “made a wrong turn” somewhere.
Interviewed separately, Lara said he had entered the U.S. legally on a student visa that had expired. He said he and Tapia were on their way to Nogales to pick up “pollos,” the Spanish slang for people wanting to cross the U.S. border illegally, the criminal complaint states.
A search of Lara’s telephone showed a text conversation with Tapia allegedly stating they would be paid $1,200 for each “pollo” they transported from Nogales, which is right across from Mexico, to Phoenix.
Court records show Lara told investigators he told Tapia several times to stop the Ram during the pursuit and that he wanted to surrender.
Both men face from one year to eight years in prison if convicted of assaulting federal agents.
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