BROWNSVILLE, Texas — A federal grand jury indicted a 28-year-old Mexican national accused of striking two federal agents with a pickup truck as he tried to flee a traffic stop.
Eduardo Perez-Rodriguez faces two counts of forcibly assaulting a federal agent with a deadly or dangerous weapon. He remains in custody. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas, led by Aaron Reitz, announced the charges in a Nov. 10 news release provided to Katy Christian Magazine.
According to the indictment, authorities stopped the Ford F-150 on Oct. 2 after determining that Perez-Rodriguez was in the country illegally. Prosecutors allege he refused an order to get out of the truck and sped away, hitting both agents and running over one agent’s foot.
If convicted, Perez-Rodriguez faces up to 20 years in federal prison and a possible $250,000 fine on each count. Assistant U.S. Attorney Angel Castro is prosecuting the case.
Homeland Security Investigations, part of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, investigated the case. The agency also helped investigate separate South Texas cases involving unlawful voting, false citizenship claims and immigration documents announced by the same office in October.
The Justice Department said the Brownsville case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative targeting illegal immigration, cartels and violent crime. President Donald Trump chose former acting ICE director Tom Homan to oversee border security and deportations. In the Houston area, immigration enforcement has also drawn legal disputes over an ICE detention that began at Bush Intercontinental Airport and Harris County’s funding for deportation defense.
Perez-Rodriguez is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.
Feature photo shows two federal agents on the roadway beside a Ford F-150 in Brownsville, Texas, on Oct. 2. Prosecutors allege Eduardo Perez-Rodriguez struck both agents as he drove away from a traffic stop. Image provided to Katy Christian Magazine by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas. Used with permission.
