SIERRA BLANCA, TX — A Louisiana man was arrested last week after speeding away from a Border Patrol checkpoint near Sierra Blanca with 10 pounds of marijuana.
The result of the chase, which reached speeds of 120 miles per hour, ended in a crash, leading to the arrest of Benjamin Thomas Mackey of New Orleans.
The incident began after a Border Patrol search dog alerted to a Mercedes-Benz 300 driven by Mackey at the checkpoint. The vehicle was then instructed to pull into a secondary search lane.
After briefly turning off the car, Mackey quickly restarted and sped off, narrowly missing a Border Patrol Agent.
Following a 120 mph chase on Interstate 10, agents lost sight of the sedan and terminated the pursuit. Minutes later, however, Mackey was spotted in the small town of Sierra Blanca. In attempting a traffic stop, Mackey sped erratically into metal barriers. A foot chase commenced, and he was brought down seconds later.
Mackey was allegedly caught with 10 pounds of marijuana. He stated that selling the drug would give him money for business investments.
Mackey told agents he was on parole out of Louisiana, which led to the decision to flee. Mackey's criminal history includes charges of distribution/possession of marijuana and illegal carrying of a weapon from 2021.
Currently, Mackey sits in El Paso Downtown County Jail, potentially facing a federal prison sentence of 5 years. He is held without bond.
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