Albuquerque Man Sentenced to Prison for Assaulting a Federal Law Enforcement Officer

ALBUQUERQUE – Ernest A. Casias, 37, of Albuquerque, N.M., was sentenced today in federal court to 36 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release for assaulting a federal law enforcement officer.

Casias was arrested on Jan. 4, 2017, on a criminal complaint charging him with assaulting a federal employee on Jan. 3, 2017, in Bernalillo County, N.M.  According to the complaint, Casias assaulted a Task Force Officer of the South West Investigative Fugitive Team (SWIFT) of the U.S. Marshals Service by using his vehicle as a weapon when he rammed his vehicle into a government vehicle operated by the Task Force Officer.  According to the complaint, Casias committed the assault when SWIFT Officers were executing arrest warrants on Casias for the underlying charges of failure to comply with probation, aggravated battery, battery against a household member and placing a child in a situation where the child is endangered. 

Casias was subsequently indicted on Jan. 24, 2017, and charged with assaulting and resisting a federal officer by ramming his vehicle into a vehicle operated by a federal officer on Jan. 3, 2017, in Bernalillo County.  On Dec. 1, 2017, Casias pled guilty to the indictment and admitted that on Jan. 3, 2017, he assaulted a federal employee by driving his vehicle into a vehicle operated by a federal employee at a high rate of speed because SWIFT officers were attempting to contain Casias’ vehicle and arrest him.

This case was investigated by the South West Investigative Fugitive Team (SWIFT) of the U.S. Marshals Service for the District of New Mexico and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Eva Fontanez.