South L.A. residents who allegedly tried to chase and block immigration officers face federal charges
Gustavo Torres, 28, and Kiara Jaime-Flores, 34, are charged with conspiracy to impede or injure officers, federal prosecutors announced Wednesday.
The couple could not be reached for comment. It was not immediately clear if they had legal representation.
The charges stem from an incident on Feb. 28 when agents with the Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Customs and Border Protection were serving search warrants in South Los Angeles. A small crowd gathered outside a home in the Florence neighborhood, according to a federal affidavit that accompanied the charging documents.
At 9:32 a.m. three federal law enforcement vehicles left the scene with "evidence," court documents said. There was no indication if anyone in the home was taken by the federal agents.
An agent recorded Jaime-Flores outside the home standing next to a Honda Fit as they departed. That same car blocked the agents' vehicles at 61st Street and Broadway. The agents were able to drive around the Honda, according to the affidavit.
While driving away, Torres drove in front of one of the government vehicles and used his brakes aggressively, according to the affidavit. Agents said that Torres then pulled into a gas station and followed the agents for approximately two miles.
Federal agents identified the license plate of the Honda Fit through surveillance footage from a local business.
On May 5, a federal agent interviewed Jaime-Flores during a traffic stop. She acknowledged that she was driving the Honda Fit with an expired driver's license. She asked if she was being questioned in relation to an incident related to immigration, according to the affidavit.
Read more: Border Patrol sued for tactics used in Kern County immigration raid
She told the agent that she and her boyfriend, later identified as Torres, went to the residence in the Florence neighborhood after seeing the activity on social media. According to the affidavit, she said the couple were opposed to the immigration agent's activities.
According to the agent, Jaime-Flores consented to a search of her mobile phone. The agent found deleted social media pictures of the home where immigration agents served the Feb. 28 search warrant.
One dated photo had writing on it that said, "We Try to Stop But I Can't Do It Alone! We Need to Stick Together To Stop Them For as Long As We Can! Please Let's Fight Together In A Good Way! Somos Mas Gente Que Officiales migra! [We outnumber the immigration officials]'
Jaime-Flores was detained and placed into the backseat of an Inglewood Police Department cruiser. She was read her Miranda Rights and agreed to speak with the agent, according to the affidavit.
Jaime-Flores then phoned Torres in the presence of an immigration agent. She told him to meet the agent, because "we did nothing wrong," according to the affidavit.
Torres met with the agent at a Santa Fe Springs business and was told he was not under arrest. Torres said that he had a suspended driver's license and it was suspended on the same day the agents were conducting their operation.
Read more: 2 U.S. border inspectors in San Diego charged with taking bribes to wave in people without documents
During the interview, Torres allegedly admitted to being involved in blocking the immigration vehicles, driving aggressively around their vehicles and following them.
He told the agent, "We thought that it'd be a good idea, ya know maybe if, maybe if it was immigration they were taking someone's family member unjustified… So, well me and my girlfriend the first instinct was, well, to block the cars."
The agent showed him additional photos from surveillance footage and asked him about driving behind the federal agents after pulling out of the gas station.
"I know, it was so stupid, and I would never do that in my life, I don't know what I was thinking. I don't know. I would never do it again,' he told the agent during the interview.
The couple are scheduled to appear in federal court Wednesday afternoon.
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This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
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