Adrian Gonzalez-Agundis was involved in an encounter with Customs and Border Patrol agents investigating unauthorized entries near the southern border. After fleeing towards the Rio Grande River, Gonzalez-Agundis stopped, pulled out a knife, and turned toward the pursuing agent in a threatening manner. Despite multiple commands to drop the weapon, he refused. The agent tased him twice, but Gonzalez-Agundis continued to resist and struggle during the arrest. He subsequently pleaded guilty to illegal reentry and assaulting a federal officer with a deadly weapon. The probation officer calculated a sentencing guidelines range of 57 to 71 months, applying the aggravated assault guideline because the conduct involved a dangerous weapon with intent to cause bodily injury. Gonzalez-Agundis objected, arguing the facts only supported an intent to frighten, not harm. The district court overruled the objection, finding the totality of circumstances indicated an intent to cause bodily harm, and sentenced him to 42 months in prison and two years of supervised release.
The Fifth Circuit reviewed the district court's application of the sentencing guidelines de novo and its factual findings for clear error. The court explained that U.S.S.G. § 2A2.4 includes a cross-reference to § 2A2.2 if the conduct constituted aggravated assault. Aggravated assault requires a felonious assault involving a dangerous weapon with intent to cause bodily injury, not merely to frighten. The court noted that the district court was not limited to the charged conduct of intimidation but could consider the defendant's underlying conduct. The intent to use a deadly weapon is judged objectively from the visible conduct of the actor and what a victim might reasonably conclude. The court found it plausible that Gonzalez-Agundis intended to injure the agent because he stopped mid-flight, turned toward the agent, brandished the knife in a threatening manner, refused to drop it, and struggled with the officer to resist arrest. While the record lacked specific details like the angle of the knife or statements made, the totality of the circumstances supported the inference of intent to harm. The court emphasized that a factual finding is clearly erroneous only if it is implausible in light of the record as a whole, and the district court's finding was not.
The decision affirms that federal courts may infer intent to cause bodily injury from the totality of circumstances, including brandishing a weapon and resisting arrest, even if the defendant was charged with an intimidation theory. It clarifies that the aggravated assault guideline applies when the objective conduct suggests an intent to injure, not just to frighten. The defendant's 42-month sentence remains in effect, and the case is remanded with instructions to enforce the original sentence. The ruling leaves open questions regarding the specific factual details required to bolster such inferences, such as the angle of the weapon or the defendant's movements, but confirms that a general struggle and refusal to comply can suffice.
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