Couple chased immigration officers, blocked them with car in California, feds say
A couple accused of chasing and blocking immigration agents in their car after a search warrant in a Los Angeles neighborhood have been arrested in California, federal prosecutors say.
The South Los Angeles couple, Gustavo Torres, 28, and Kiara Jaime-Flores, 34, were each charged with conspiracy to impede or injure an officer, the United States Attorney's Office for the Central District of California said in a May 14 news release.
Neither have been assigned an attorney as of May 15, records show.
'These defendants are charged with knowingly and recklessly putting federal agents' lives in danger,' U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli said in the release.
Car chase
On the morning of Feb. 28, agents with Homeland Security Investigations and the United States Border Patrol served search warrants at four Los Angeles homes, prosecutors said.
At one of the addresses in South Los Angeles, a small crowd began to gather outside, prosecutors said.
An officer reported hearing someone from the crowd yelling, 'You're here stealing kids… You're here taking kids,' officials said in a criminal complaint.
Bystanders continued to make comments and 'temperature rose pretty quickly,' officials said.
The officers left the area in three vehicles, carrying 'evidence back to the HSI office,' according to officials.
At a nearby intersection, prosecutors said a Honda Fit pulled in front of one of the government vehicles, blocking its path.
The sedan then drove past two government vehicles, prosecutors said.
The car was being driven 'aggressively,' as the driver kept 'brake checking,' in what agents thought to be an attempt to cause a crash, officials said.
Subsequently, the driver followed one of the vehicles for two miles, weaving through 'multiple lanes of traffic as it followed it,' according to prosecutors.
Couple interviewed
After reviewing video footage, a Department of Homeland Security agent was able to ascertain possible license plate number combinations for the Honda Fit, officials said.
The agent went to the street of the initial confrontation and found a Honda matching the vehicle description that also included one of the possible license plate numbers on March 7, officials said.
The agent pulled the driver of the car over on May 5, officials said.
During the stop, Flores told the agent that on the day of the February incident, her aunt called to say there was 'immigration' in the area, officials said.
She also found a post on social media about 'immigration' being on her street, officials said.
This prompted Flores and her boyfriend to stand outside the South Los Angeles home, she told the agent, noting 'it 'wasn't right' what ICE was doing,' officials said.
The agent placed Flores in the back of a police vehicle and read her Miranda rights, officials said.
She agreed to continue speaking to the agent and admitted she was the passenger in the Honda as her boyfriend, Torres, drove during the incident, officials said.
'Flores said that they were being 'activists,'' officials said.
During a separate interview, Torres also admitted to his involvement in the incident, officials said.
After learning of possible immigration activity in the area, Torres told the agent, he and Flores' 'first instinct was well to block the cars,' officials said.
Torres told the agent he heard a bystander in the crowd say someone had been taken, officials said.
When no one acted, Torres told the agent, he and Flores 'decided they were going to see where immigration was 'taking them,'' officials said.
During their conversation, Torres expressed regret about the incident, according to officials.
'When we took off. I know, it was so stupid, and I would never do that in my life, I don't know what I was thinking,' he told the agents, officials said. 'I don't know. I would never do it again.'
He went on to say the pair 'thought we were helping the community or something by trying to stop you guys,' officials said.
If convicted as charged, Torres and Flores each face a maximum sentence of six years in federal prison, prosecutors said.
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