Crime
Tucson man indicted for threatening to murder Border Patrol agent and migrant smuggling
The man verbally confronted a Border Patrol agent and threatened to kill him after he was released from the hospital
September 21, 2022 8:02pm
Updated: September 23, 2022 5:14pm
A Tucson was indicted for allegedly smuggling undocumented migrants into the country and threatening to murder a Border Patrol agent, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona.
While attempting to smuggle four undocumented migrants in his vehicle on March 16, Jesus Alberto Ibarra-Barraza, 31, encountered law enforcement officers who had been trailing him for a while after they noticed suspicious behavior.
On a dirt driveway, he suddenly stopped the car to let the passengers get out from the bed of his Nissan Titan pickup truck. Ibarra-Barraza then did and U-turn and fled at full speed. However, shortly after, he crashed his vehicle and was severely injured, according to a press release by the Attorney’s Office of the District of Arizona.
Ibarra-Barraza was pulled out of the wreckage by the officers and was flown out by helicopter to a nearby hospital. At the hospital, verbally confronted a Border Patrol agent and threatened to kill him after he was released from the hospital.
“When I get out of here, I am going to find you and kill you,” the court records claim Ibarra-Barraza said.
The four undocumented migrants were detained and identified as Florinda Chilel-Lopez, Ketzia Martinez-Mendez, Mariela Criselda Bail-Perez, and Silvia Aquino-Galacia from Guatemala.
On September 8, a federal grand jury in Tucson returned an indictment against Ibarra-Barraza for conspiracy to transport illegal aliens for profit, four counts of transporting illegal aliens for profit, and one count of threats to murder an employee of the United States.
Each charge carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison and a fine of up to $250,000.
The investigation into the case was conducted by the U.S. Border Patrol. The prosecution is being handled by U.S. Attorney Nathaniel Walters of the District of Arizona, Tucson.
Ibarra-Barraza had several other priors, including arrests for possessing drug paraphernalia, criminal trespass, theft, and multiple traffic citations.
