MEXICAN CITIZEN SENTENCED TO 14 YEARS IN PRISON FOR ASSAULT ON A FEDERAL OFFICER

 

Tucson, Ariz.- Jesus Manuel Cazarez-Salas, 29, of Culiacan Sinaloa, Mexico, was sentenced here yesterday by U.S. District Court Judge Cindy K. Jorgenson to 170 months in prison and was ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $81,428. Cazares-Salas pleaded guilty on September 26, 2008, to Assault on a Federal Officer for his actions during a 2005 riot at the Federal Correctional Institution (FCI) in Tucson. Two other inmates are pending trial for their actions during the same riot.

 

On November 27, 2005, Cazares-Salas was an inmate at FCI Tucson serving a prison sentence for Re-entry after Deportation and was associated with the Border Brothers prison gang.

 

A riot broke out after a confrontation between the Border Brothers and Native American prisoners.

 

Correctional officers, including the victim, attempted to break up the confrontation and were attacked by prisoners with prison “shanks” and other objects. One of the Corrections officers was stabbed and hit numerous times during the incident. Cazares-Salas struck the officer in the face with a telephone breaking the victim’s nose.

 

The investigation in this case was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Prisons and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The prosecution was handled by David Flannigan and Jesse Figueroa, Assistant U.S. Attorneys for the District of Arizona, Tucson.

 

CASE NUMBER; CR-7-1264 TUC-CKJ (GEE)

RELEASE NUMBER: 2009-014(Cazarez-Salas)

For more information on the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, visit http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/az/