THE DAILY BS: HOW MUCH CAN YOU HANDLE?
SPARE ME THE BS (I’ve got things to do).
- A 27-year-old Honduran national illegally in the United States allegedly attacked two ICE officers with a hammer during a New Jersey traffic stop.
- Federal prosecutors say he climbed onto his truck’s passenger-side door and repeatedly swung the weapon before officers subdued him with pepper spray.
- Reinieri De Jesus Licona Amador was charged October 19 and faces up to 20 years in federal prison if convicted.
LAY IT ON ME (I’ve got time).
Most drivers pulled over by federal immigration officers have a limited number of options. Produce identification, answer questions, perhaps call an attorney.
One Honduran national in New Jersey allegedly decided to add an option of his own: Climb onto the truck and start swinging a hammer.
And that little addition to the traffic-stop procedure could cost him 20 years in federal prison.
Reinieri De Jesus Licona Amador, 27, has been charged with assaulting federal officers with a dangerous weapon following an October 4 confrontation in Gibbsboro, New Jersey.
According to federal prosecutors, ICE deportation officers were conducting a targeted immigration enforcement operation when a license-plate check identified a truck registered to Licona Amador.
Immigration records showed he was a Honduran national unlawfully present in the United States and subject to removal.
Officers confirmed that the driver’s appearance matched his immigration photograph, activated their emergency lights and pulled him over.
So far, a fairly ordinary traffic stop.
Then somebody apparently decided it needed a hardware-store component.
As officers approached the truck, wearing clearly marked ICE and police vests with their badges displayed, they allegedly saw Licona Amador reach into a tool container in the back seat.
He pulled out a hammer.
The officers ordered him to stop moving. Prosecutors say he refused.
When agents opened the driver’s door and attempted to remove him, Licona Amador allegedly pulled away, moved across the cab and climbed out on the passenger side — still carrying the hammer.
Then came the maneuver that turned an already troublesome encounter into a federal assault case.
According to the criminal complaint, Licona Amador climbed onto the passenger-side door and began swinging the hammer repeatedly at two ICE officers.
There’s aggressive resistance, and then there’s apparently treating a traffic stop like an audition for a demolition crew.
The officers deployed pepper spray, wrestled him to the ground and took him into custody without anyone being injured.
Federal prosecutors are taking the allegations considerably more seriously than an ordinary case of refusing to cooperate with a traffic stop.
“Federal officers put themselves in harm’s way to enforce the law and protect the public,” U.S. Attorney Robert Frazer said.
Frazer added that attacks involving dangerous weapons threaten both officers’ safety and the rule of law.
Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent in Charge Michael McCarthy also condemned the alleged assault, describing what he said was a sharp increase in violence against federal immigration personnel.
McCarthy cited increases of more than 1,600% in assaults, 3,300% in vehicular attacks and 8,000% in death threats against federal law enforcement officers.
Those are figures reported by Homeland Security officials, and they illustrate how seriously the department views the safety of its personnel.
The case arrives amid continuing national arguments about immigration enforcement, federal agents and the tactics used to arrest people subject to deportation.
Whatever anyone thinks about those political arguments, this particular allegation is remarkably straightforward: Federal officers attempted to make an immigration arrest, and prosecutors say the suspect responded by swinging a hammer at them.
Licona Amador appeared Monday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Elizabeth A. Pascal in Camden federal court.
The charge carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The allegations have not yet been adjudicated.
And so a traffic stop that began with a routine license-plate check has ended with a federal felony charge.
Apparently, reaching for a hammer while two ICE officers are approaching your vehicle is not the clever escape strategy some people might imagine.
DBS WIRE SOURCES (I’ve got all day).
- U.S. Department of Justice — Honduran national charged with assaulting ICE officers with hammer
- Fox News — Honduran migrant allegedly attacks ICE officers during New Jersey traffic stop
- New York Post — Federal prosecutors detail alleged hammer attack
- News 12 New Jersey — Local coverage of Gibbsboro incident and federal charges
