TUCSON, AZ – Pedro Anival Coc-Caal, a 22-year-old from Tectitan, Huehuetenango, Guatemala, has been sentenced to 24 months in prison for assaulting a United States Border Patrol agent. U.S. District Judge John C. Hinderaker delivered the sentence on Tuesday, following Coc-Caal’s guilty plea to charges of Assault on a Federal Agent Inflicting Bodily Injury and Improper Entry by an Alien in June 2024.
The incident occurred on August 12, 2023, when a Border Patrol agent attempted to arrest Coc-Caal for illegal entry into the United States. As the agent moved to handcuff him, Coc-Caal struck the agent in the face, knocking off the agent’s sunglasses and causing injury. During the struggle, Coc-Caal also kicked the agent in the arm, leading the agent to fall onto jagged rocks, further injuring the agent’s finger.
Coc-Caal fled the scene into the desert but was later apprehended after a foot chase with the assistance of a helicopter. The agent was treated for his injuries, and Coc-Caal was taken into custody.
The case was investigated by U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Border Patrol division. Assistant U.S. Attorney Serra M. Tsethlikai, of the District of Arizona in Tucson, prosecuted the case.
