Honduran National Sentenced to Federal Prison for Assaulting Border Patrol Agents

United States Attorney John E. Murphy announced that in Del Rio today, United States District Judge Alia Moses Ludlum sentenced Elvis Roberto Lambert-Benedict, a 31-year-old Honduran national, to 57 months in federal prison for assaulting two federal agents and possession of marijuana.

On February 17, 2010, a federal jury seated in Del Rio found Lambert-Benedict guilty of one count charging possession of over 50 kilograms of marijuana and two counts of assaulting a federal agent. Evidence presented at trial revealed that on May, 28, 2009, Lambert-Benedict and another suspect transported approximately 58 kilograms of marijuana from the Republic of Mexico to the United States near Eagle Pass, Texas. Agents with the United States Border Patrol responded to the scene and attempted to apprehend both men after the men dropped the sacks in a known narcotics smuggling area. Lambert-Benedict was attempting to evade apprehension by jumping into a creek which feeds into the Rio Grande River. As an agent jumped in to apprehend him, Lambert-Benedict attempted to strike the agent and push his head under water. Both men were treading in deep water. Minutes passed before other agents arrived and they all pulled Lambert-Benedict onto the bank of the creek. As he continued to resist, Lambert-Benedict struck a second agent on the mouth. The second suspect was able to evade capture.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Drug Enforcement Administration. Assistant United States Attorney Erica Benites Giese prosecuted the matter for the Government.