Arizona man accused of assaulting CBP agent with truck while smuggling gun rounds to Mexico

PHOENIX — A man from southern Arizona is facing a potential prison sentence of 45 years after assaulting a Border Patrol officer while trying to smuggle over 3,000 rounds of ammunition from Arizona to Mexico, authorities said.

A federal grand jury indicted Miguel Soto-Morando, 32, on multiple counts related to ammunition smuggling and assault last month, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona.

Soto-Morando allegedly assaulted a U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) officer when his smuggling attempt failed, which led to officers shooting at him, prosecutors said.

When did alleged ammunition smuggling and assault in southern Arizona take place?

The formal accusations leveled against him on Nov. 13 stem from crimes he allegedly committed on Oct. 16.

On that day, Soto-Morando tried to leave the U.S. through the Dennis DeConcini Port of Entry in Nogales, prosecutors said.

After authorities referred the truck he was driving to secondary inspection, Soto-Morando allegedly tried to flee into Mexico.

A CBP officer reached into his truck to try and stop him from escaping, but Soto-Morando sped up his truck as he approached the gate leading to Mexico, prosecutors said.

Why is Arizona man accused of assaulting CBP officer?

While speeding, Soto-Morando allegedly crashed his truck into a pillar, which threw the officer out of the vehicle.

After the collision, Soto-Morando left the vehicle, at which point two CBP officers — including the officer who was ejected from the truck — opened fire at him, prosecutors said.

Soto-Morando was shot twice.

Authorities then investigated his vehicle. They found a spare tire containing 3,140 ammunition rounds meant to be smuggled into Mexico, prosecutors said.

What charges does Arizona man accused of ammunition smuggling and assault face?

Soto-Morando’s status as a convicted felon makes him a prohibited possessor, which means he’s forbidden by law to carry a gun or ammunition, prosecutors said.

The federal grand jury indicted him of three charges in mid-November:

• One count of smuggling ammunition from the U.S.
• One count of having ammunition as a prohibited possessor.
• One count of assaulting a federal officer with a deadly or dangerous weapon.

Soto-Morando is from Rio Rico, an unincorporated community in Santa Cruz County that’s around 14 miles north of Nogales.

If convicted, he faces a potential sentence of 45 years, as there’s a maximum penalty of 10 years for smuggling goods from the U.S., 20 years for assault on a federal officer wtih a deadly weapon and 15 years for carrying ammunition as a prohibited possessor.