A California man has been sentenced to five years in federal prison after prosecutors say he deliberately rammed a U.S. Border Patrol vehicle while trying to escape authorities during an alleged human smuggling attempt near Arivaca.
According to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Arizona, 20-year-old Joe Martin Cruz Jr. of San Pedro, California, was sentenced June 23 by Angela M. Martinez to 60 months in prison. Cruz previously pleaded guilty to two counts of assaulting a federal officer and one count of transporting an undocumented immigrant for profit.
Federal prosecutors said the incident happened on Jan. 14, 2025, near Arivaca, when Cruz was transporting four undocumented migrants. As U.S. Border Patrol agents began following his vehicle, prosecutors said Cruz stopped, allowing the passengers to run from the vehicle before accelerating away at a high rate of speed.
Investigators determined that during the pursuit, Cruz intentionally drove into the path of an oncoming Border Patrol vehicle occupied by two agents.
According to crash data and evidence collected at the scene, Cruz had the accelerator pedal pressed to 100% at the time of the collision. Investigators also found that he turned the steering wheel left immediately before impact, crossing the center line and striking the agents' SUV head-on.
Despite the agents' attempts to avoid the crash, prosecutors said the collision was severe enough to shear off the Border Patrol vehicle's rear axle, sending it spinning off the roadway into nearby brush. Both agents suffered multiple injuries.
After the crash, authorities said Cruz fled into the desert on foot but was later apprehended by law enforcement.
The investigation was led by Homeland Security Investigations with assistance from U.S. Customs and Border Protection's Border Patrol and the Office of Professional Responsibility. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeff Amlee in Tucson.
