South Texas Man Sent to Prison for Smuggling, Assault

MCALLEN (AP) – A South Texas man has been sentenced to more than four years in federal prison after being convicted on charges related to ramming a Border Patrol vehicle during a human smuggling attempt. Victor Eduardo Acevedo-Ventura was sentenced on Tuesday during a federal court hearing in McAllen. He had pleaded guilty last year to charges of smuggling and assaulting a federal agent. Prosecutors say Acevedo-Ventura, from the South Texas city of Edinburg, had been caught in October 2017 trying to smuggle six immigrants who had illegally entered the U.S. The 24-year-old Acevedo-Ventura fled the scene near the Falfurrias Border Patrol checkpoint but later twice slammed his car into a Border Patrol vehicle that pursued him. No Border Patrol agents were severely injured.