El Paso man sentenced to 19 years for attempted murder of Border Patrol agent

ALBUQUERQUE, New Mexico (KVIA) -- A federal court sentenced 25-year-old El Pasoan Roberto Esquivel to 19 years in prison today for the attempted murder of a Border Patrol agent. Esquivel pleaded guilty to attempted murder in February 2024.

Federal officials say Esquivel tried to smuggle undocumented migrants. He was driving on a rural section of NM Highway 146 on January 5, 2023 when the agent stopped his car for a routine inspection. The agent asked Esquivel to get out of the car, and that is when federal officials say Esquivel pulled out a gun and shot the agent twice in the torso.

"After shooting the agent, Esquivel fled the scene but lost control of the vehicle and rolled it multiple times," federal officials explained. "He ran from the crash site and threw the gun into the desert. Law enforcement officers subsequently apprehended Esquivel and recovered the discarded firearm."

The agent, who was wearing a ballistic vest, survived. Emergency medical crews airlifted one of Esquivel's passengers to the hospital. That person also recovered.

Esquivel will have to go through three years of supervised release after his prison sentence.