by Mike Donoghue, Vermont News First
This article first appeared in the Caledonian-Record.
BURLINGTON — An illegal immigrant from Mexico, who had a loaded shotgun with a pistol grip when he got into “a significant physical struggle” with U.S. Border Patrol Agents in Orleans County last fall, was sentenced to 10 months in federal prison on Friday
Ciro Temich-Ramirez, 35, of North Carolina, received a prison term in U.S. District Court after pleading guilty to illegal possession of a firearm by an individual who was unlawfully in the United States.
Chief Federal Judge Geoffrey W. Crawford noted it is extremely rare for the U.S. Border Patrol in Vermont to find people with loaded firearms. The incident was less than a mile from the international border in North Troy on Sept. 30.
The judge said the case became more serious when Temich-Ramirez opted to get into a physical confrontation with the Border Patrol instead of just surrendering peacefully.
“Just surrender,” said Crawford, noting the altercation could have worsened.
“It’s the firearm that escalated the incident,” the judge said. “It escalated it considerably.”
Following a brief conversation, a significant physical altercation ensued between the first responding federal agent and Temich-Ramirez, records show. Additional federal agents responded, and after restraining Temich-Ramirez, they found the loaded 12-gauge Mossberg shotgun and an air pistol that was manufactured to look like a real firearm in his car.
Law enforcement said they also found methamphetamine, brass knuckles, a knife and ammunition, including a 30-round AR-15 magazine and 103 rounds for a shotgun. Open beer cans also were found in the Jeep, the Border Patrol said.
The advisory federal sentencing guidelines had suggested a prison penalty of between 10 and 16 months.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Zachary Stendig called the incident “incredibly dangerous conduct” and noted the defendant wasn’t interested in surrendering.
Stendig said he was willing to go with the low-end sentence – 10-months – but did not say why. He said it was unclear why Temich-Ramirez thought he needed protection.
“He did not go quietly,” Stendig said.
He said in his sentencing motion that both a prison term and deportation “would send a message to other aliens that illegally entering the United States entails risks greater than simply being sent back.”
Assistant Federal Defender Sara Puls had proposed a sentence of time served in prison since his arrest – about 4 ½ months ago.
She said Immigration officials have filed a detainer against him to have Temich-Ramirez removed from the country once his criminal case is resolved. She said that means he is likely to remain locked up during any deportation efforts.
Puls said her client disputed some claims about the scuffle made by the Border Patrol in the presentence report by the U.S. Probation Office. She asked that a paragraph be removed from the sentencing report, but Crawford ruled it would stay.
Stendig said he would stand by the sworn affidavits from the Border Patrol about the incident.
Temich-Ramirez, when given a chance to speak, did not try to change the record about the confrontation. He simply said he was sorry.
Crawford also agreed to recommend Temich-Ramirez serve the remainder of his sentence at the federal prison in Berlin, N.H. The judge also assessed him $100 in court costs.
As part of the criminal case, records show the government filed a forfeiture notice that covered the shotgun and all the ammunition that was seized.
As part of the plea agreement, two other felony charges were dropped: assaulting, resisting, and interfering with a Border Patrol Agent in the performance of his lawful duties and illegal possession of a firearm while being an unlawful user of and addicted to a controlled substance.
The case began when the U.S. Border Patrol received a report of a possible illicit border crossing in North Troy at about 2:20 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 30. A concerned citizen in North Troy flagged down Border Patrol Agent Todd Marrs to report that a suspicious Hispanic man was near Bear Mountain Road and Guay Farm Road and was taking pictures of the sky, records show.
Marrs found Temich-Ramirez outside a blue Jeep Liberty with North Carolina registration plates near the intersection, Russell said. Temich-Ramirez was vague when questioned and denied he had any weapons, but Marrs could see a knife in his pocket, Russell reported.
Temich-Ramirez was asked to turn around so Marrs could conduct a safety pat down, the Border Patrol reported. They said Temich-Ramirez opted to shove Marrs backward, and “a significant physical struggle ensued” between the two men.
Russell reported Temich-Ramirez repeatedly prevented Marrs from accessing his two-way radio to request backup support. He said Marrs eventually gained control of his radio and summoned help.
Supervisory Border Patrol Agent John Brooks arrived within minutes to help Marrs handcuff Temich-Ramirez, the Border Patrol said.
Russell said Deputy Patrol Agent in Charge Mark Qualter arrived and helped secure the scene and the Jeep. Qualter noticed what appeared to be a pistol in the driver’s door of the Jeep, the Border Patrol said. The vehicle was subsequently searched.
After the reported altercation, Temich-Ramirez told the Border Patrol he had been in the United States for about 20 years and had illegally crossed in from Mexico, records show.
Temich-Ramirez, when asked the purpose of his visit to Vermont, said he just started driving after fighting with his wife and didn’t realize that he was so close to the U.S.-Canada border, Russell said.
The gun was bought by his wife, who is a U.S. citizen. It was illegal for Temich-Ramirez, who said he was born in Veracruz, Mexico, to buy a gun in the U.S., officials said.
It was one of two physical attacks in Vermont on a Border Patrol Agent along the U.S.-Canada boundary within ten days, records show.
Another illegal immigrant from Mexico, armed with a knife, was charged with assaulting a U.S. Border Patrol Agent and knowingly bringing illegal immigrants into the country near Bullard Road in Highgate on Sept. 21, 2023.
Robert N. Garcia, the U.S. Border Patrol Chief for the Swanton sector, turned silent when the media sought comments in Vermont about officer safety for the Border Patrol agents working the rural 300-mile border stretch he supervises.
Temich-Ramirez maintained he had the shotgun because he sometimes slept in his car and he thought it could be dangerous, the Border Patrol said. He said he was aware that it was illegal for him to have the shotgun and it was illegal for him to buy a firearm, the Border Patrol reported.
Temich-Ramirez said the illegal drugs found in plastic baggies in his Jeep were “crystal” and that he uses it because he does strenuous roofing work and that his back hurts, Russell said. Temich-Ramirez said he last used some between 10 a.m. and noon on Saturday.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives assisted in the case and determined the shotgun had been manufactured outside Vermont, part of the reason his possession of it is a felony, the Border Patrol said.