Midland Man Found Guilty of Attempted Murder of Border Patrol Agent

In Del Rio today, a federal jury found Carl Wayne Wiley guilty of attempted murder of a federal agent, announced United States Attorney Richard L. Durbin, Jr., Rodolfo Karisch, Del Rio Sector Chief Patrol Agent, U.S. Border Patrol, and Christopher Combs, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Special Agent in Charge of the San Antonio Division.

Wiley was found guilty of one count of attempting to kill one or more United States Border Patrol Agents who were engaged in the performance of their official duties, one count of assaulting, resisting, opposing, impeding, or interfering with one or more United States Border Patrol Agents using a deadly or dangerous weapon, and two counts of using and discharging a .45 caliber Ruger revolver during and in relation to the commission of the aforementioned crimes of violence.

According to court records, Wiley was wanted for Murder and Attempted Murder in Midland, TX and was fleeing prosecution.  He was originally spotted by Border Patrol Agents in Sanderson, TX in the early morning hours of June 29, 2014.  Wiley took agents on a high speed pursuit before crashing his vehicle.  He fled on foot into the brush and avoided arrest by stealing an ATV, then a Ford F-350 pickup truck and several firearms from nearby ranches.

On June 30, 2014, an off-duty Comstock Border Patrol Agent observed the Ford F-350 truck traveling east on Highway 90 near the Comstock Border Patrol checkpoint.  The vehicle suspiciously and abruptly turned around short of the checkpoint and proceeded west back toward Comstock, TX.  Approximately four miles north of Comstock, an agent attempted to conduct a vehicle stop in order to investigate the suspicious activity.  When the agent activated the emergency equipment, Wiley crashed through a ranch fence and continued driving further into the ranch.  The vehicle came to a stop after colliding with a tree and Wiley absconded on foot into the brush.  Wiley led responding agents on a foot pursuit, and when one agent was closing in on him, Wiley shot at him.  Wiley continued to evade agents, shooting again at a group of agents as those agents honed in on his position. The agents were eventually able to surround Wiley and successfully apprehended him after a struggle.

“Wiley was a one-man crime wave crashing across the expanse of West Texas as he fled murder and attempted murder charges in Midland.  It is a miracle he did not seriously injure any agents or citizens during his rampage.  The agents who risked life and limb to catch him are to be commended for their courage and professionalism.  This conviction should remove him from the street for some time to come,” stated United States Attorney Richard L. Durbin, Jr.

Wiley faces up to 20 years imprisonment each for the attempted murder charge and the assault charge.  He faces a mandatory ten years for the use of a firearm during and in relation to the commission of a crime of violence.  The defendant remains in custody pending sentencing, which is scheduled for June 6, 2016.

This case was investigated by special agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation with assistance from the United States Border Patrol, Val Verde County Sheriff’s Office and the Midland Police Department.  Assistant United States Attorneys Ralph Paradiso and Katherine Griffin prosecuted this case on behalf of the Government.

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