U.S. Customs and Border Protection Officer Eliomar Santos was taken into custody and will serve one year in the Webb County Jail, followed by three years of probation, Webb County District Attorney Isidro Alaniz said. Alaniz said Santos received three years of probation for assault by impeding breath. He also received one year in jail on each of three other charges: assault, unlawful restraint and interference with an emergency call. The jail terms will run concurrently, meaning they will be served at the same time.
The sentence followed a trial over a 2022 encounter between Santos and a fellow CBP officer. Prosecutors said Santos assaulted the woman, handcuffed her and held her in a closet at her home. Assistant District Attorney Mario Guerra told jurors the physical evidence supported her account.
Santos' defense argued that he acted in self-defense. Defense attorney George Altgelt said Santos used handcuffs after seeing the woman look toward a duty belt that held a firearm. Altgelt said the force used was proportionate to the situation.