Border Patrol agent accused of lying about pursuit

Tucson man could face 5 years in prison for falsely reporting incident

Posted Jul 23, 2011

Janet Rose Jackman
TucsonSentinel.com

Office of the United States Attorney, Arizona

A Tucson Sector Border Patrol agent was indicted by a federal grand jury Thursday on three counts of making false statements when reporting on a patrol stop.

Agent Ralph Hunt, of Tucson, allegedly reported to Border Patrol dispatch that he pursued a vehicle after attempting to stop it on May 21, 2009, because an occupant was a sexual offender and he believed a child was in the car.

Hunt chased the SUV over 30 miles for 45 minutes and arrested the occupants and seized marijuana, the indictment said.

During an interview with authorities on Sept. 25, 2009, Hunt allegedly lied about the events.

In the first count of the indictment, Hunt is accused of telling Border Patrol dispatch to report to the Department of Public Safety that he was pursuing the SUV because an occupant was a sexual offender and he believed a child may be in the vehicle.

The indictment alleges that Hunt knew there was never a child in the vehicle and made the claim only to get assistance with the pursuit from DPS.

In the second count, Hunt is accused of claiming the driver of the vehicle made an illegal U-turn and attempted to run Hunt off the road during the pursuit. An investigation revealed the driver of the SUV did not make these moves, the indictment said.

In the third count of the indictment, Hunt is accused of claiming the driver of the SUV tried to avoid an area of S.R. 286 spiked by authorities to disable the vehicle. The investigation, however, showed there was no evidence the driver drove in a hazardous manner or tried to avoid the spikes.

If convicted, Hunt could face a maximum penalty of five years in prison, a fine of $250,000 fine, or both.

The investigation was conducted by the Office of Internal Affairs for U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Tucson.