Hugo Alexander Garcia-Sales, Assault on a Federal Officer, Arizona 2022

TUCSON, Ariz. – A young man from Guatemala has been arrested and charged for allegedly assaulting a Customs and Border Protection helicopter pilot in Arizona.

Hugo Alexander Garcia-Sales, 22, was taken into custody on October 13, 2022, by United States Border Patrol (USBP) agents after they responded to a remote area near Henrick’s Well to apprehend two suspected undocumented noncitizens.

According to the complaint, Garcia-Sales threw five softball-sized rocks at the helicopter as the pilot hovered above the ground, creating a severe risk of injury or death to the victim pilot. Although Garcia-Sales failed to hit the helicopter, one rock came within several feet of striking the aircraft.

The USBP agents arrested Garcia-Sales and confirmed he was a non-U.S. citizen without legal permission to enter or remain in the United States. The other individual evaded apprehension.

Garcia-Sales has been charged with Assault on a Federal Officer With a Deadly or Dangerous Weapon and Improper Entry by an Alien. Assault on a Federal Officer carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000. Improper Entry by an Alien carries a maximum penalty of six months in federal prison and a fine of up to $5,000.

A complaint 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 United States Border Patrol conducted the investigation in this case. Assistant United States Attorney Nathaniel Walters, District of Arizona, Tucson, is handling the prosecution.

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