TUCSON, Ariz. — A 22-year-old man has pleaded guilty to attempting to murder a Border Patrol agent in southern Arizona and could face several years in prison.
Rey David Marquez-Jimenez accepted a plea deal last week with federal prosecutors that had him admit to trying to harm a Border Patrol agent on Jan. 26.
The U.S. Attorney's Office of Arizona said Marquez-Jimenez tackled the agent as the agent was attempting to handcuff someone else near Hereford, which is about 18 miles from Sierra Vista. The defendant then punched the agent, tried grabbing the agent's gun out of his holster, and attempted to stab the agent with a knife.
Marquez-Jimenez then fled on foot before he was apprehended by other Border Patrol agents, prosecutors say.
The defendant may be sentenced up to nine years in federal prison under the terms of his plea deal. He's scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 12, 2023.
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