ALBANY — A 39-year-old Nicaraguan citizen has pleaded guilty to assaulting a federal agent during an attempted arrest in Albany last year, federal prosecutors announced Tuesday.
Michel Manuel Garcia Rojas admitted to resisting, impeding and assaulting a federal officer engaged in official duties, inflicting bodily injury. According to court documents, Garcia Rojas entered the United States illegally in 2023 and was in removal proceedings when Homeland Security Investigations learned in March 2025 that he had been charged in New York with misdemeanor petit larceny and endangering the welfare of a child.
Because of those charges, Garcia Rojas was subject to immediate detention under the Laken Riley Act. Federal agents moved to arrest him before his release on the state charges.
Prosecutors said Garcia Rojas was handcuffed and placed in a federal law enforcement vehicle but managed to get out and attempt to walk away. When a special agent confronted him and tried to return him to custody, Garcia Rojas struck the agent in the face and threw him into a door. Multiple officers responded, and a taser was used to subdue and rearrest him.
The agent suffered abrasions, bruises to the jaw and a back injury that kept him out of work for months, officials said.
Garcia Rojas is scheduled to be sentenced June 16 before U.S. District Judge Mae A. D’Agostino. He faces up to 20 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, up to three years of supervised release and deportation after serving any prison term. He will also be ordered to pay restitution to the injured agent.
FingerLakes1.com is the region’s leading all-digital news publication. The company was founded in 1998 and has been keeping residents informed for more than two decades. Have a lead? Send it to news@fingerlakes1.com.
