Mexican National Sentenced to 14 Months in Prison for Using a Vehicle to Assault, Resist, Oppose, Impede, Intimidate, or Interfere With a Federal Agent

Defendant Has Been in United States Illegally Since Late 2007 PHILADELPHIA – Cristian Geovanni Rojas Benitez, 37, a Mexican national who overstayed his visa and remained illegally in the United States, was sentenced today to 14 months’ imprisonment by United States District Judge Gail A. Weilheimer for forcibly assaulting, resisting, opposing, impeding, intimidating, or interfering with an officer of the United States, while using a deadly or dangerous weapon — specifically, a motor vehicle — while the officer was engaged in the performance of official duties, according to United States Attorney David Metcalf. Rojas Benitez was charged by indictment in August of last year and pleaded guilty in October. During his plea hearing, the defendant admitted that he intentionally drove his pickup truck in the direction of a federal agent. As detailed in court filings and statements, on the morning of June 23, 2025, that Homeland Security Investigations ("HSI") agent and other federal officers were attempting to locate Rojas Benitez and take him into administrative custody after he had violated conditions of his immigration release, including a 2024 conviction in the Lancaster County Court of Common Pleas for false identification to law enforcement, operating a vehicle without ignition interlock, knowing and intentional possession of a controlled substance, and driving an unregistered vehicle. Based on information they had received, the federal officers surveilled a residence in Downingtown, Pennsylvania. At approximately 8:30 a.m., a man matching the description and photograph of Rojas Benitez exited the residence and got into a pickup truck. When the defendant started to drive away, the federal officers quickly conducted a vehicle stop. Rojas Benitez did not comply with the federal officers’ commands to get out of the vehicle or roll down his window. During this encounter, the HSI agent moved to the front of the vehicle to maintain visibility of the driver. The law enforcement officers told Rojas Benitez that if he did not comply, his window would be broken, and when Rojas Benitez continued not to comply after multiple warnings, one of the federal officers broke the rear driver’s side window of the truck. The defendant then put the vehicle in drive and drove over the sidewalk in the direction of the HSI agent, who had to push off the truck with his hand and jump out of way to avoid being struck. The defendant also narrowly avoided hitting a passing school bus. Rojas Benitez then fled the state and was ultimately located by the U.S. Marshals Service on July 24, 2025, in Washington, D.C. This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. The case was investigated by HSI, Immigration and Customs Enforcement - Enforcement and Removal Operations, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.