Federal agents arrest man accused of illegally towing government vehicle during immigration raid
DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- New video released by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) shows a rogue tow truck driver snatching an immigration agent's government SUV in the middle of a raid in downtown Los Angeles in August.
The raid targeted a popular influencer, Tatiana Martinez, who was reportedly livestreaming the immigration enforcement activity to thousands on TikTok. The same video shows her being pulled from her car and arrested.
Federal immigration agents were sent scrambling when the tow truck operator took off with one of their vehicles as they were making the arrest last month.
Now, the tow truck driver -- identified by the DOJ as 33-year-old Bobby Nunez -- is potentially facing 10 years in federal prison after he was arrested on Tuesday and charged with theft of government property.
Acting U.S. Attorney for Los Angeles Bilal "Bill" Essayli posted the video of the arrest to X, writing, "Apparently he thought it would be funny to interfere with our immigration enforcement operations. Now he can laugh behind bars while he faces justice."
According to a news release from Essayli's office, law enforcement officers used two vehicles to block Martinez's vehicle and prevent her from escaping. The government vehicles reportedly had their emergency lights on.
During Martinez's arrest, Nunez reportedly pressed the passenger side door of her vehicle on an officer, who then threatened Martinez with arrest. After he was told what was happening, Essayli's office said the man told them, "Something was going to happen."
While officers addressed a second man accused of intervening with the arrest, Nunez allegedly got into his tow truck and towed one of the government vehicles away. The keys were reportedly inside, in addition to a firearm locked in a safe.
Nunez got involved trying to help Martinez, who was violently arrested by ICE back on Aug. 15. The government says she was in the country illegally and was convicted of a DUI. Her attorney says she did have a DUI, but is here legally. He says when she arrived from Colombia three years ago, she presented herself at the border, was processed, allowed entry and given a work permit.
"We believe, at this point, based on things that have been said to her, is that, because she was out filming ICE activities, she was targeted," her attorney, Carlos Jurado, said.
ICE has also continued to target Home Depot stores to pick up day laborers. It happened again on Thursday at a Home Depot in Hawthorne. The roundup included a man on dialysis, whose daughter is now fearful he won't get the treatment he needs to survive while in ICE custody.
"I am worried about him because he has a life-or-death condition, that's why I am speaking with you, to help get him out as fast as possible," the daughter said in Spanish. "I just hope he stays well, that he gets released soon, so he can be safe."
On Tuesday, President Donald Trump was delivered a pair of major losses in court. In one case, a federal appeals court ruled it was illegal for the president to have taken over the National Guard and deployed them to Los Angeles. Essayli called it a frivolous ruling by an activist judge.
"The whole premise of this lawsuit is completely frivolous. The idea that the National Guard was out on patrol on the streets of L.A., arresting people or conducting civilian law enforcement, was completely false," Essayli said.
For months now, Trump has repeatedly been making it sound as if the National Guard was on the streets of L.A., even as recently as Tuesday.
"Parts of Los Angeles are terrible. If we didn't put out the fires, and I mean the other fires, the bullet fires... if I didn't send the National Guard into Los Angeles, you wouldn't, I would be making an announcement today, I'd be talking about Huntsville, and I'd simultaneously be saying, 'By the way, the Olympics is not coming,'" Trump said.
Despite Trump's comments, federal agents only patrolled around the federal building downtown and in Westwood.
As for the second ruling, a federal court of appeals ruled that Trump's use of the Alien Enemies Act -- saying there's an invasion into the U.S. -- is not legal to get immigrants out of the country. The Trump administration is expected to appeal both rulings.
