A federal court in San Antonio sentenced Robyn Argote-Brooks, a 26-year-old Cuban from Havana, to 10 months in prison and ordered him to pay $9,767 in restitution for ramming and damaging two vehicles belonging to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) during an operation in January, as announced by the Department of Justice.
Federal judge Fred Biery imposed a sentence of 10 months for each of the two charges of destruction of government property, to be served concurrently. He also ordered three years of supervised release and the payment of a special fee of $200, in addition to restitution for the damages.
The events took place on January 13 in the parking lot of a Walmart in northern San Antonio during an intervention by ICE agents.
Argote-Brooks, who worked as a grocery delivery driver for a third-party app, refused to obey the officers' commands and backed up at high speed, nearly hitting one of them. He then crashed into a federal SUV and accelerated towards a sedan also owned by the government, injuring the officer in the front seat.
The incident was recorded on video, and the footage circulated widely. The initial damages assessed for the two vehicles exceeded $1,000 in each case and were then estimated to total $4,847. The restitution ultimately set by the court amounted to $9,767.
Following his arrest, a formal charge filed in February accused the Cuban man of two counts of destruction of government property and one count of assault on a federal officer.
In May, after about two and a half hours of deliberation, a federal jury declared him guilty on both vehicle-related charges.
However, he was acquitted of the most serious charge, aggravated assault with a deadly or dangerous weapon against a federal official, for which he faced a potential sentence of up to 20 years in prison.
The defense, led by attorney Marina Thais Douenat, argued during the proceedings that Argote-Brooks does not speak English and did not receive instructions in Spanish during the operation.
According to that version, the young man panicked when he found himself surrounded by people who, according to his testimony, did not identify themselves and demanded that he exit the vehicle, leading him to fear that he was being kidnapped.
He entered the United States through CBP One
Argote-Brooks entered the United States in October 2024 at the port of entry in Laredo, Texas, through an appointment obtained via CBP One and received parole.
The Department of Homeland Security canceled that benefit in April 2025 amid the immigration changes implemented by the Trump administration. According to the defense, neither Argote-Brooks nor his father were notified of the cancellation.
His lawyer also stated that the young man had served for three years in the Cuban army and that in 2024 he was called up to fight in Ukraine, a situation that, according to the defense, led his family to seek asylum in the United States.
The judicial process underwent several turns before reaching a verdict. In one of the initial hearings, Argote-Brooks was ordered to be released under family custody, but later Federal Judge Jason Pulliam halted his release while demanding that the government clarify and provide evidence regarding the defendant's immigration status.
The Department of Justice presented the case as part of the so-called "Operation Restore America," an initiative of the current administration aimed, according to the official description, at strengthening the enforcement of immigration laws and combating transnational criminal organizations and perpetrators of violent crimes.
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