My News LA reports that an intoxicated motorist who struck a U.S. Border Patrol agent at a checkpoint along Interstate 15 near Temecula was sentenced to four years and four months in state prison on Wednesday.
The defendant, 31-year-old Jamie Alejandro Garcia of San Bernardino, pleaded guilty to the charges of DUI with an excessive blood-alcohol level and hit-and-run causing great bodily injury entered his plea on Tuesday, May 23, in Riverside County Superior Court.
California Highway Patrol Officer Mike Lassig testified that the incident occurred on December 13, 2021, at approximately 2:20 a.m. USBP agents were conducting a checkpoint along the northbound lanes of Interstate 15 at the county line between Riverside and San Diego Counties.
The unidentified Border Patrol agent was standing in the checkpoint zone in the number 2 lane when Garcia, driving a Mini Cooper, came into the area driving approximately 60 miles per hour.
Without slowing, Garcia struck the agent with enough force to send the officer up over the vehicle and onto the pavement. Garcia did not slow down nor stop his car until USBP agents caught up to him approximately one mile from the crash scene.
CHP officers concluded that Garcia was under the influence of alcohol and was taken into custody. A toxicology test confirmed that Garcia had a blood-alcohol level of more than .16 percent – more than twice the legal limit of .08 percent.
The injured USBP agent was rushed to Inland Valley Medical Center in Wildomar with life-threatening injuries. After an unspecified period, the victim was released from the hospital but continues to suffer from chronic pain from the near-fatal crash.
At the hearing, Superior Court Judge Thomas Kelly accepted Garcia’s admission and sentenced the defendant to four years and four months in Prison.
Up until Wednesday, Garcia had been free on bail. By the judge’s order, Garcia was remanded to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation custody.
