Austin man sentenced to 92 months in prison for assaulting TSA officer

SAN ANTONIO (KTSA News) — A 21-year-old Austin man was sentenced to nearly eight years in federal prison Tuesday for assaulting a TSA employee outside Austin-Bergstrom International Airport late last year.

Federal prosecutors said the victim was driving to work on November 5, 2019, and stopped for a traffic light near the airport entrance.  The victim had his driver’s side window open a few inches and was wearing his TSA uniform.

Candido Rodriguez approached him and had a verbal exchange with him.  Rodriguez referred to the victim as being an “officer”, to which the victim responded by saying he worked as a security officer at the airport.

The defendant then forcibly opened the driver’s side door and began striking, scratching and cutting the victim’s head, face and right hand with some sort of sharp object — possibly broken glass.

The victim was able to get away, but needed a number of stitches to close the wounds.

Rodriguez pleaded guilty to a count of assaulting a federal officer in December.

“I am pleased with the sentence in this case. We won’t tolerate violence against law-enforcement officers in Texas,” stated U.S. Attorney John Bash.

In addition to the 92 month prison sentence, Rodriguez was ordered to be placed on supervised release for three years after finishing his time in prison.