Guatemalan Man Sentenced to 46 Months for Assault on Federal Officer
A federal judge sentenced 32-year-old Guatemalan national Jose Estuardo Funes-Melgar to 46 months in prison for assaulting a U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer at a port of entry in Louisiana. The sentence triggers mandatory deportation proceedings upon release and adds to enforcement statistics tracking attacks on federal officers at the southwest border.
nbcnews.comNEW ORLEANS — Jose Estuardo Funes-Melgar, a 32-year-old Guatemalan national, received a 46-month prison sentence on May 15, 2026, in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana after pleading guilty to assaulting a federal officer.
The sentence covers a single count under 18 U.S.C. § 111(a)(1). Funes-Melgar struck a U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer in the face with his fist at the Federal Port of Entry in Reserve, Louisiana, on March 11, 2025. The officer sustained injuries requiring medical treatment. The court also ordered three years of supervised release following imprisonment.
Scope of impact remains limited to the individual defendant, though the case forms part of the Department of Justice's broader tracking of assaults on federal officers. In fiscal year 2025, federal prosecutors reported 2,184 such incidents nationwide, with a concentration at ports of entry and along the southwest border. The statute carries a maximum penalty of eight years when injury results.
The sentencing shifts Funes-Melgar from pretrial detention to Bureau of Prisons custody, with release now scheduled for approximately March 2029 assuming standard good-time credit. Upon completion of the term, Immigration and Customs Enforcement must take custody for removal proceedings under standard expedited deportation rules for noncitizens with aggravated felony convictions.
The judgment requires Funes-Melgar to pay a $100 special assessment.
Downstream effects include activation of standard inter-agency protocols between the Bureau of Prisons, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Louisiana, and ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations. The case also updates the DOJ’s public tally of sentences for border-related officer assaults, which federal agencies use to allocate resources for port-of-entry security and officer training programs.
Federal sentencing data will reflect the 46-month term in national statistics published by the U.S. Sentencing Commission.
This marks the latest conviction obtained by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Louisiana in a line of federal officer assault cases dating to 2022. The original incident occurred at the Reserve port facility, one of multiple smaller ports supporting commercial traffic along the Mississippi River corridor.
The Department of Justice press release issued May 15, 2026, lists the case as resolved through a plea agreement with no trial.
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