LOS ANGELES – Two South Los Angeles residents were arrested today on a federal criminal complaint alleging they caused a car chase earlier this year in which they deliberately blocked and impeded immigration agents during the performance of their official duties.
Gustavo Torres, 28, and Kiara Jaime-Flores, 34, are charged with conspiracy to impede or injure officer.
The defendants are scheduled to make their initial 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 United States Attorney Bill Essayli. “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 an affidavit filed with the complaint, on the morning of February 28, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and United States Border Patrol agents executed four search warrants at separate residences in Los Angeles, one of them occurring at an address in South Los Angeles. A small crowd began to concentrate outside the residence and some bystanders in the crowd directed hostile remarks at the agents, who later got in their government vehicles and left the area.
At the intersection of 61st Street and Broadway in South Los Angeles, Torres and Flores – driving a Honda Fit – allegedly pulled in front of one of the government vehicles and blocked its pathway at the intersection. The defendants also drove westbound on 61st Street in an opposing lane, passing another two government vehicles. The defendants allegedly pulled in front of one of the vehicles and slammed on the brakes, which the agents believed was an attempt to cause a collision.
Torres and Flores aggressively followed one of the government vehicles for two miles, attempting to cross multiple lanes of traffic as it followed it and the other cars.
A criminal complaint contains allegations. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
If convicted, Torres and Flores would face a statutory maximum sentence of six years in federal prison.
HSI is investigating this matter. The investigation was conducted by the HSI-led El Camino Real Financial Crimes Task Force, a multi-agency task force that includes federal and state investigators who are focused on financial crimes in Southern California.
Assistant United States Attorney Matthew J. Tako of the General Crimes Section is prosecuting this case.
