Two Marijuana Scouts with Weapons Sentenced to Prison

     TUCSON – Today, Jose Abelordo Guzman-Perez, 21, a citizen of Mexico, was sentenced by Chief U.S. District Judge Raner C. Collins to 97 months in prison, followed by a term of three years of supervised release.  Guzman-Perez had previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute marijuana and carrying a firearm during a drug crime.

     On the night of Sept. 28-29, 2016, the Tucson Sector U.S. Border Patrol Tactical Unit (BORTAC) responded to the Roskruge Mountains northwest of Three Points, Ariz., after a camera captured two suspected unauthorized aliens, later identified as Lorenzo Antonio Infante-Ortiz and Jose Abelordo Guzman-Perez, carrying backpacks. Guzman-Perez was also seen carrying a Century Arms AK-47 7.62 mm rifle and Sig Sauer P220 .45-caliber pistol, and Infante-Ortiz was seen carrying a Springfield Armory AR-15 .223-caliber rifle and Smith & Wesson 9 mm pistol.  Air support units arrived and observed Infante-Ortiz and Guzman-Perez sleeping with the aforementioned rifles within arm’s reach of both of them, near a cliff with a 6-foot drop.

     BORTAC agents struggled for hours in the pitch dark, utilizing only night-vision, to get in place to apprehend the defendants. Once in place, agents announced their presence and attempted to take the defendants into custody. Infante-Ortiz attempted to flee but was detained after a brief struggle. Guzman-Perez reached for the AK-47 and was promptly tackled by an agent. Guzman-Perez was combative and violently fought, causing him and the agent to fall off the cliff. The fall caused the agent’s left shoulder to dislocate, but the agent held on to Guzman-Perez with his other arm while the defendant continued to push, kick, and punch him. Eventually, Guzman-Perez got away from the agent and fell several times as he attempted to run down the mountainside in the dark. Agents on containment duty were then able to close in and capture Guzman-Perez before he left containment. Infante-Ortiz previously pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 36 months’ imprisonment.

     The investigation in this case was conducted by the Homeland Security Investigations and BORTAC.  The prosecution was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lawrence Lee and Adam Rossi, District of Arizona, Tucson.

CASE NUMBER:           CR-16-01374-PHX-SPL

RELEASE NUMBER:    2017-102_Perez etal

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