MCALLEN, TX – A federal magistrate in
McAllen has accepted the guilty pleas of Guatemalan National Luis Gilberto
Cruz-Solis, 19, of willfully and maliciously harming a police animal and for
illegally entering the country, U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson announced on
Wednesday.On May 12, 2013, Border Patrol K-9 Dinie was conducting line-watch operations with her handler and other federal agents when they discovered approximately 30 suspected undocumented aliens fleeing into an orchard near Mission. While in pursuit, Dinie located Cruz-Solis hiding in the brush. As the K-9 approached, Cruz-Solis attacked Dinie with a knife and stabbed her in the right side of her neck, inflicting a wound two inches deep that narrowly missed her spinal cord. Despite her injury, Dinie led agents to Cruz-Solis, where he was apprehended.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Peter E. Ormsby accepted the pleas and set sentencing for June 5, 2013, at 3:00 p.m. At that time, Cruz-Solis faces up to a year in prison and a possible $100,000 fine.
This case is being investigated by Border Patrol and the FBI. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Grady J. Leupold and Kimberly Leo prosecuted the case.
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