Oro Valley Man Indicted for Assaulting a Border Patrol Agent with a Firearm

TUCSON, Ariz. – Erik Alberto Beal, 26, of Oro Valley, was indicted by a federal grand jury in Tucson on May 1, 2024, on two counts of Assault of a Federal Officer with a Dangerous Weapon, that is, a Firearm, and Brandishing a Firearm During a Crime of Violence. 

The indictment alleges that, on April 11, 2024, in Nogales, Arizona, Beal assaulted a United States Border Patrol Agent with a firearm while the agent was on duty. Border Patrol agents were working near the United States-Mexico Border when a subject jumped the International Boundary Fence and ran onto a nearby property. The victim agent ran in search of the suspected undocumented non-citizen. During the search, Beal came out of a residence adjacent to the border fence and confronted the agent. Beal pointed his firearm, a Sig Sauer, Model P250, .45 caliber pistol, at the victim agent before eventually being subdued and arrested.

A conviction for Assault of a Federal Officer with a Dangerous Weapon carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, or both. A conviction for Brandishing a Firearm During a Crime of Violence carries a mandatory minimum sentence of seven years up to life imprisonment, a fine of $250,000 or both.

An indictment is simply a method by which a person is charged with criminal activity and raises no inference of guilt. An individual is presumed innocent until evidence is presented to a jury that establishes guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation, with the assistance of United States Customs and Border Protection’s Office of Professional Responsibility, is conducting the investigation in this case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Serra M. Tsethlikai, District of Arizona, Tucson, is handling the prosecution.
 

CASE NUMBER:            CR-24-02352-TUC-SHR
RELEASE NUMBER:    2024-064_Beal

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