A Guatemalan man living in Palm Beach County has been sentenced to more than a year in federal prison after assaulting two federal immigration officers who were trying to arrest him, the Department of Justice said Friday.
U.S. District Judge Donald M. Middlebrooks sentenced Fredy Aureliano Morales-Ramirez, 39, of Lake Worth Beach, to one year and one day in prison after he pleaded guilty to forcibly assaulting a federal officer, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida.
“Assaulting federal officers will never be tolerated here,” U.S. Attorney Jason A. Reding Quiñones said in a statement. “These officers were doing their jobs, lawfully executing an arrest warrant, and they were met with violence. Today’s sentence makes clear that if you attack federal law enforcement in South Florida, you will go to prison.”
According to court records, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers attempted to execute an arrest warrant for Morales-Ramirez on Aug. 13, 2025. Investigators said Morales-Ramirez, who authorities say was in the United States illegally, was located during a vehicle stop near his residence.
During the encounter, Morales-Ramirez refused to follow officers’ commands, attempted to put his vehicle into drive and resisted arrest by pushing the officers and grabbing their handcuffs, prosecutors said. He then tried to flee by exiting through the passenger-side door and running away.
Officers pursued him and attempted to restrain him, but Morales-Ramirez continued to resist, striking them on their arms and torsos, authorities said. With help from a deputy from the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office, officers were eventually able to bring him to the ground and take him into custody.
