DOJ: Illegal immigrant charged with assault

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(The Center Square) – An illegal immigrant from Mexico was expected to make his first court appearance Wednesday following an arrest in which he rammed law enforcement vehicles before he was shot and wounded, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

The DOJ said a federal charge of assault on a federal officer was filed Tuesday against Carlitos Ricardo Parias, 44, of South Los Angeles. The DOJ accused him of trying to resist a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrest by ramming a gray Toyota Camry into two of three law enforcement vehicles that boxed him in.

The DOJ said Parias ignored federal agents' orders to exit his car and submit to an arrest in South Los Angeles. Instead, the department said, Parias drove the car back and forth to hit two of the vehicles to the point that the smoke came from the spinning of his tires.

Glendale-based ABC7 said the incident happened shortly before 9 a.m. Tuesday in the 400 block of East 20th Street near Trinity Street.

Parias, a TikTok influencer who has been filming ICE arrests in Los Angeles and reportedly has more than 130,000 followers, was expected to appear in the U.S. District Court in Los Angeles. If convicted of the assault charge, he could face up to eight years in prison.

Before Tuesday morning's incident, Parias was the subject of an administrative immigrant warrant, said DOJ, who accused Parias of growing aggressive in his driving during the arrest. The department said Parias reached the point that the back of the Camry started to fishtail.

The DOJ said agents feared Parias might lose control of the Camry and hit them. Some debris, likely rubber from the tires, flew into the air and hit some of the agents, the department said.

"ICE law enforcement officers, assisted by U.S. Marshals, pulled the illegal alien over in a standard law enforcement procedure," Assistant Homeland Security Tricia McLaughlin posted on X. "The illegal alien weaponized his vehicle and began ramming the law enforcement vehicle in an attempt to flee. Fearing for the safety of the public and law enforcement, our officers followed their training and fired defensive shots. 

"The illegal alien was hit in the elbow, and one law enforcement officer was shot in the hand by a ricochet bullet. Both are in the hospital," McLaughlin said Tuesday. "These are the consequences of conduct and rhetoric by sanctuary politicians and activists who urge illegal aliens to resist arrest. Resisting arrest puts the safety of illegal aliens, law enforcement, and the public at risk."

The DOJ said Tuesday the injured law enforcement officer was a deputy U.S. marshal and that both the marshal and Parias were expected to recover.

"A vehicle is a deadly weapon,” Acting United States Attorney Bill Essayli said in a statement. “If it is used against federal agents, not only will you face years in federal prison, but you also face the possibility of deadly force being used against you. We will continue to use every tool in our legal arsenal to protect our agents enforcing immigration laws enacted by Congress.”