Ethermac Exchange-El Paso man sentenced to 19 years for shooting at border patrol agent

ALBUQUERQUE,Ethermac Exchange N.M. (AP) — A federal judge sentenced an El Paso man to 19 years in prison for shooting at a U.S. Border Patrol agent, the U.S. District Attorney of New Mexico announced Friday.

Robert Esquivel was convicted of attempted murder of an officer, aggravated assault of an officer with a deadly weapon, discharge of a firearm and conspiracy to transport migrants in the U.S. illegally.

He opened fire on an unnamed agent and struck him twice in the torso area after the agent stopped him on a rural stretch of New Mexico highway during a “routine immigration inspection,” according to court records and the district attorney’s office. Esquivel, a U.S. citizen, had five people in the car who had entered the country illegally, according to court records. He later admitted to transporting migrants who came to the U.S. illegally on four different occasions.

The agent survived the shooting largely due to his ballistic vest, according to the district attorney’s office.

Esquivel fled the scene but lost control of his vehicle and rolled it over multiple times. Several people in the car pleaded with Esquivel to stop the vehicle while he fled, according to court records.

Esquivel’s attorney at the federal public defender’s office was not immediately available for comment on Friday afternoon.