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Press Release

Undocumented alien sent to prison for causing injury to federal agent

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of Texas

LAREDO, Texas – A 33-year-old undocumented Honduran national has been ordered to federal prison for assaulting a Border Patrol (BP) agent in the performance of his official duties, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Jennifer B. Lowery.

On Jan. 29, U.S. District Judge Marina Garcia Marmolejo rendered her guilty verdict against Walter Yobani Ordones-Chavez following a one-day bench trial that concluded Jan. 27.

Today, Judge Marmolejo ordered him to serve a 33-month-term of imprisonment. Not a U.S. citizen, he is expected to face removal proceedings following the sentence. At the hearing, the court heard additional evidence detailing how Ordones-Chavez had multiple aliases, convictions for resisting arrest in the states of Colorado and Massachusetts and been previously deported 11 times.

The court also noted that authorities had acted with great experience and restraint in apprehending Ordones-Chavez. At the conclusion of the hearing, the court thanked the agents for their service to the United States.

In the early morning hours of Dec. 31, 2019, law enforcement responded to possible illegal activity near Headen Avenue and Ventura Street in the El Tonto neighborhood of Laredo. They had discovered a group who had illegally crossed the Rio Grande River and attempted to hide inside a storage shed located at a private residence.

At trial, the court heard Ordones was one of those individuals. Testimony revealed he violently resisted efforts to apprehend him, striking at authorities and ignoring multiple commands to halt.

Law enforcement was ultimately able to physically detain him, but not before causing injury to an agent. Two BP agents were subsequently treated for injuries at a medical facility.

Ordones-Chavez will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.

FBI and Customs and Border Protection conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Francisco J. Rodriguez and Courtney Nix prosecuted the case.

Updated April 15, 2021

Topic
Violent Crime