(The Center Square) – As U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents continue to be assaulted when arresting foreign nationals in the U.S. illegally with lawful immigration orders, U.S. attorneys in California are prosecuting them.
In northern California, Nicaraguan national De-Jesus Morales was charged with one count of forcibly assaulting an ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations officer.
Morales was arrested at an ICE facility in San Jose when an ICE-ERO officer and two others attempted to take him into custody when executing a warrant for his removal and deportation, according to the charges.
“Morales allegedly physically resisted arrest and attempted to flee from the deportation officers, resulting in a struggle and injuries to Morales and the officers,” according to the complaint. “All three deportation officers and Morales received medical treatment for injuries sustained during the physical altercation.” The ICE ERO officers’ injuries included “bruising, scrapes, an ankle stress fracture/strain, a chest contusion, and a groin injury.”
Morales remains in ICE custody pending his removal pursuant to his deportation order.
In Los Angeles, a Mexican national illegally living in the city was charged with a felony for allegedly spitting on an ICE ERO agent who arrived at his residence to execute an arrest warrant for felony illegal reentry. Omar Pulido Bastida, 41, earlier this year was charged with illegal reentry after being previously deported.
After knocking on the door, the officer identified himself and said he had a warrant for his arrest. Pulido Bastida opened the front door with an iron security gate separating them, said, “No, get out of here. I know my rights. I’m calling my lawyer,” spat through the gate on the officer, and went back inside, according to the charges.
ICE personnel then forcibly entered his residence and found him hiding in a second-story storage room.
He was arrested and charged with one count of assault of a federal employee, which carries a maximum sentence of eight years in federal prison. He already appeared before a federal judge in Santa Ana and is scheduled to appear before a federal judge in Los Angeles next month.
“This defendant found out the hard way: When you spit, we hit – with a felony charge,” U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli said. “Law enforcement officers risk their lives and safety to uphold the law. To treat them with the disrespect, like this defendant did, mocks our great nation and such behavior will be punished accordingly.”
In southern California, two Los Angeles County residents, including one in the country illegally, were charged with possessing Molotov cocktails during recent violent riots in downtown Los Angeles and Paramount.
Mexican national Emiliano Garduno Galvez, 23, illegally residing in Paramount, and Wrackkie Quiogue, 27, of Long Beach, were each charged with possession of an unregistered destructive device. The crime carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison. Both remain in federal custody.
“When protesting crosses the line into violence, the penalties will be severe,” Essayli said. “Possessing a Molotov cocktail or another destructive device is punishable by up to 10 years in federal prison. The vile attacks such as the ones alleged in these complaints could have resulted in life-altering or life-ending injuries to police officers, sheriff’s deputies, and innocent bystanders. We will not relent in dispensing swift justice to criminals who take advantage of our country’s freedoms to engage in lawlessness.”
According to the charges, on June 7, Galvez lit and threw a Molotov cocktail over a wall where Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department deputies were engaging in crowd control and ran away. At the time, a violent mob had assembled in a location near a staging area where federal agents were preparing to implement enforcement operations.
On June 8, Quiogue also possessed a Molotov cocktail while holding a lighter during civil unrest near federal buildings in downtown Los Angeles, according to the charges. Los Angeles Police Department officers who saw him with the device arrested him. As he attempted to flee, he threw the Molotov, the officers allege.
Two U.S. citizens and residents of Anaheim and Orange were also arrested and charged with assault on a federal officer. The charge carries up to one year in federal prison.
Christian Andres Garcia, 32, of Anaheim, and Rene Luna, 43, of Orange, were charged with assaulting a federal officer during a violent riot in Santa Ana. On June 9, Garcia threw objects at law enforcement personnel stationed outside a Homeland Security Investigations office in Santa Ana; Luna allegedly threw water bottles and beer cans at officers, according to the charges.
More charges are expected to be filed in the coming days.
