A patrol car with the Department of Homeland Security logo blocks the street outside the Department of Veterans Affairs, July 27, 2017, in Washington, DC. (Photo by Paul J. RICHARDS / AFP) (Photo by PAUL J. RICHARDS/AFP via Getty Images)
Los Angeles, California – Two South Los Angeles residents were arrested Tuesday on federal charges alleging they intentionally interfered with immigration officers during a high-stakes car chase earlier this year.
Gustavo Torres, 28, and Kiara Jaime-Flores, 34, face charges of conspiracy to impede or injure an officer in connection with a February 28 incident in which they allegedly attempted to block and endanger Homeland Security agents performing official duties.
The pair are scheduled to make their initial court appearances this afternoon in United States District Court in downtown Los Angeles.
“These defendants are charged with knowingly and recklessly putting federal agents’ lives in danger,” said U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli in a statement. “Anyone who deliberately gets in the way of immigration officers doing their job will face criminal prosecution and the prospect of doing time in a federal prison cell.”
According to a federal affidavit, the incident unfolded the morning of February 28 as agents with Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and U.S. Border Patrol executed four search warrants at separate locations in Los Angeles. Authorities served one warrant at a residence in South L.A., where a small crowd gathered and began hurling hostile remarks at the agents.
After completing the search, the agents returned to their vehicles to leave the area, but a dangerous two-mile pursuit through city streets followed.
At 61st Street and Broadway intersection, Torres and Jaime-Flores, driving a Honda Fit, allegedly pulled in front of a government vehicle and blocked its path. Moments later, authorities saw the pair driving westbound in the wrong lane on 61st Street, passing two more federal vehicles. Prosecutors say the pair pulled in front of one of the agents’ cars and abruptly slammed on the brakes — a move federal agents believed was an attempt to provoke a collision.
The pursuit escalated as Torres and Jaime-Flores allegedly continued to tail one of the government vehicles aggressively, weaving across multiple lanes and creating what prosecutors described as a dangerous and deliberate effort to disrupt law enforcement operations.
The criminal complaint contains allegations only, and both defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in court.
Torres and Jaime-Flores each face a maximum sentence of six years in federal prison if convicted.
HSI’s El Camino Real Financial Crimes Task Force, a multi-agency team focused on financial and organized crime in Southern California, is investigating the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew J. Tako is prosecuting the case.
