San Bernardino Driver Arrested on Federal Assault Charge, Then Transferred to ICE Custody
Prosecutors allege he assaulted officers during a masked roadside stop captured on video.
Overview
- Homeland Security Investigations arrested Francisco Longoria at his home early Thursday, with his attorneys saying agents arrived in an armored vehicle and broke the gate locks.
- Longoria faces a federal count of assault on a federal officer with a deadly or dangerous weapon, with arraignment scheduled for Sept. 30, according to the U.S. attorney’s office.
- A magistrate set $5,000 bond and the U.S. Marshals initially held him at the county jail before his transfer into immigration custody under an ICE detainer, his attorneys said.
- Cellphone and surveillance videos of the Aug. 16 encounter show agents smashing the truck’s windows and gunfire as the vehicle drove off; DHS has said Longoria tried to run officers down.
- San Bernardino police reported no one was struck by gunfire, and Longoria’s lawyers argue the footage undercuts DHS claims, noting a judge questioned the government’s description of an “immigration check.”