By Max Reinhart
The Detroit News
UTICA, Mich. — An undocumented immigrant from Venezuela has been sentenced to four years in federal prison after authorities said he took a federal agent’s gun during an arrest in Macomb County in March.
Arnoldo Jose Marquez-Pulido, 33, fought with Homeland Security Task Force officers after they approached him at Sam’s Club in Utica, where he worked as a delivery driver, according to records filed in Detroit’s federal court.
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He pleaded guilty in May to a charge of assaulting, resisting or impeding a federal officer, which is punishable by up to 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000, court records show. He was sentenced last week to 48 months in federal prison.
“Marquez-Pulido turned a lawful enforcement action into a violent confrontation when he assaulted a federal agent and grabbed for a gun,” Jared Murphey , special agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations’ Detroit office, said in a statement. “That kind of brazen disregard for law enforcement and public safety will be met with consequences.”
The suspect’s attorney, Celeste Kinney, didn’t immediately return messages seeking comment.
Pursuit leads to fight at store
Marquez-Pulido entered the U.S. via the Mexico border in April 2024 without a visa or any other travel documents that would allow him to lawfully enter the country, according to U.S. Attorneys.
On March 4, Homeland Security Task Force agents were surveilling the Sam’s Club store in Utica after getting word that undocumented immigrants were working there. Officers observed a car registered to Marquez-Pulido and checked law enforcement databases, which showed that he was in the U.S. illegally, authorities said.
When the suspect left the premises in his car, agents attempted to conduct a traffic stop. Marquez-Pulido briefly stopped his vehicle before speeding away. Agents opted not to give chase in order to minimize risk to other drivers.
Marquez-Pulido later returned to Sam’s Club, where agents approached him on foot, U.S. Attorneys said. The suspect fled and was tackled by one officer. A skirmish followed, in which Marquez-Pulido allegedly struck the agent in the face with his elbow, then reached for and removed the officer’s weapon, a Glock 19 pistol.
The suspect “briefly wielded” the gun before losing control of it, U.S. Attorneys said in press release. Additional officers arrived and recovered the weapon.
Marquez-Pulido was arrested. Authorities said he caused injuries to one agent’s elbow, knees, hands and face while another agent injured his knee in the incident. Both were hospitalized.
“This illegal alien sped away from federal agents and then created a potentially deadly fight when he grabbed an agent’s gun,” U.S. Attorney Jerome F. Gorgon Jr. said in a statement. “Our federal agents put their lives on the line every day to protect Americans against dangerous illegal aliens like this man. He should never have been in our country.”
In exchange for his guilty plea, U.S. Attorneys agreed to drop a charge of being an alien in possession of a firearm, which is punishable by up to 15 years in prison.
Marquez-Pulido is currently behind bars at the Federal Correctional Institution in Milan, online records show.
mreinhart@detroitnews.com
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