Phoenix man sentenced to 10 years for assaulting federal officer with vehicle, smuggling migrants
Dec 30, 2024, 6:30 PM
PHOENIX — A Phoenix man found responsible for assaulting a federal officer while smuggling noncitizens into the U.S. was recently sentenced to 10 years in prison, according to authorities.
A federal judge in Arizona sentenced 56-year-old Michael Leroy Witt earlier this month, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona.
Witt was convicted at trial of assaulting a federal officer and causing bodily injury, conspiring to bring noncitizens into the U.S. illegally and transporting migrants for migrant, prosecutors said.
Phoenix man convicted for assaulting a federal officer with vehicle
The crimes Witt was convicted of took place on Feb. 20, 2023.
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On that day, a Border Patrol agent stopped Witt while he was driving near Sonoita, a census-designated place in Santa Cruz County around 50 miles southeast of Tucson.
The agent, who suspected Witt of transporting noncitizens illegally, approached the driver’s side of the vehicle after Witt tried to wave him away, prosecutors said.
The agent instructed Witt to turn off the vehicle. When Witt disobeyed, the agent then tried to turn it off, at which point Witt hit the gas pedal and drove.
The Border Patrol agent, who was hanging out of the car window, was dragged alongside the vehicle as it approached oncoming traffic, prosecutors said.
Despite the danger, the agent turned the vehicle off and brought it to a stop on the side of the road.
Authorities later discovered Witt had concealed two undocumented migrants who he planned to illegally transport further into the U.S., prosecutors said.
