Arizona man accused of human smuggling is a repeat offender who once 'threw rocks' at Army helicopter: docs
The man suspected of smuggling illegal immigrants who was shot on Tuesday by federal agents is a repeat offender once convicted of a similar crime, records show.
Officials said the individual, identified as Patrick Gary Schlegel, 34, was recognized by law enforcement as being possibly related to a possible human trafficking incident around 7:30 a.m. on Tuesday near the town of Arivaca, Arizona, which is just miles from the southern border with Mexico. Officials said everyone in the vehicle fled on foot. Schlegel previously was convicted in a $40,000 human smuggling operation.
A few hours later, Border Patrol agents spotted the vehicle and attempted to make a traffic stop, but Schlegel fled on foot. During the foot chase, Schlegel allegedly shot at a U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) helicopter and individual agents.
A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson told Fox News Digital that agents returned fire, striking Schlegel. He was taken to a hospital where he's expected to recover after undergoing surgery, an official said.
Schlegel will likely face federal charges of assault on a federal officer, alien smuggling, and being a felon in possession of a firearm, according to authorities.
Heith Janke, the special agent in charge of the FBI's Phoenix Division, said that Schlegel has a "significant criminal history," which includes an active federal arrest warrant that was issued by the U.S. Marshals Service in 2025 after an escape tied to a previous federal alien smuggling conviction.
Schlegel was convicted of transportation of illegal aliens for profit and felon in possession of a firearm after a May 2023 incident where prosecutors said he smuggled people into the country.
On May 20, 2023, Schlegel tried to get 16 people across the southern border and was arrested. According to the criminal complaint, a Border Patrol camera observed a car being driven by Schlegel pick up a group of 16 suspected illegal immigrants, and showed him loading them into the bed of a pickup truck, covering them with a tarp. At that time, the suspected illegal aliens jumped out of the pickup truck and its bed.
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A Border Patrol agent began following Schlegel until the suspect drove "recklessly off road through the desert," the complaint states, adding that he "yelled angrily and threw rocks" at an Army National Guard helicopter.
Adela Martinez-Lopez, a witness in the case, told prosecutors that her cousin arranged for her to be smuggled into the U.S. for $12,000. Two other illegal immigrants claimed that they paid $14,000 to be smuggled into the U.S., totaling over $40,000. It's unclear if all the money went to Schlegel. In January 2024, Schlegel was sentenced to three years in prison.
Court records in Arizona show Schlegel was also found guilty of misconduct involving weapons in 2024.
Nanos said during a press conference that multiple shots were fired in Tuesday's incident.
"In Pima County, we're not tolerating any abuse of a law enforcement officer… any type of abuse, but that goes for our citizens as well," the sheriff said.