Man Convicted Of Felony Assault On Ranger

On January 5th, Daniel Exiga, 21, of Tucson, pled guilty in U.S. District Court to a felony charge of assault on a federal officer (18 USC 111(a)(1)) and was sentenced to 57 months in federal prison. He was also sentenced to 36 months of supervised probation upon release from prison and mandated to participate in 500 hours of a drug treatment program. On April 27, 2008, rangers John D. Williams and Scott Neumann approached a vehicle parked at a trailhead to conduct a welfare check on the driver and the passenger.  While engaging the driver (Exiga) in conversation, Williams noticed a clear cellophane baggie of white powder (which later tested positive for cocaine) on the floorboard and ordered Exiga to exit the vehicle.  Exiga instead started the vehicle, and Williams reached inside in an attempt to turn the engine off. Exiga shifted the vehicle into reverse, pulling Williams a short distance before he was able to disengage from the vehicle. Williams was not injured during the incident. Exiga then fled the scene at a high rate of speed but crashed his vehicle three miles from the trailhead.  He fled the accident scene on foot, leaving behind his seriously injured passenger. Exiga turned himself in at the Tucson Police Department the following morning and was subsequently arrested by rangers. District ranger Robert E. Stinson was the lead case agent.