California man sentenced to 5 years in prison for assaulting Border Patrol agents in Arizona

A California man was sentenced last month to 60 months in prison after assaulting Border Patrol agents, authorities announced Monday.

Joe Martin Cruz Jr., 20, assaulted the agents while transporting four undocumented immigrants on Jan. 14, 2025, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona.

The incident took place near Arivaca, an unincorporated community in Pima County around 60 miles southwest of Tucson.

After Border Patrol agents started following his vehicle, he stopped and the migrants exited, after which he drove off at a high rate of speed, prosecutors said.

While fleeing, Cruz crashed his car into a Border Patrol vehicle carrying two agents, authorities said.

Vehicle crash data and evidence from the scene showed he pressed the accelerator to 100% and turned the wheel left, intentionally crossing a lane divider and hitting the agents’ vehicle.

The impact sheared off the Border Patrol vehicle’s rear axle, sending it off the road and into the brush. Both agents were injured in the crash.

Cruz then ran into the desert but was later arrested by law enforcement.

He pleaded guilty to two counts of assaulting a federal officer and one count of transporting an illegal alien for profit, prosecutors said.

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