A tow truck driver was arrested after allegedly laughing and filming himself whereas towing away an ICE car, as brokers struggled to detain an anti-ICE TikTok influencer within the nation illegally.
Bobby Nunez, 33, was nabbed on Tuesday after he interfered with federal brokers in downtown Los Angeles on Aug. 15 as they tried to arrest 23-year-old Tatiana Mafla-Martinez, an undocumented immigrant from Colombia, based on a federal felony grievance.
The brokers had her car pinned with two flashing law-enforcement SUVs on the exit of a luxurious high-rise parking storage to forestall the anti-ICE TikTok influencer from escaping in her Tesla when Nunez allegedly stepped in.
As officers have been struggling to put Mafla-Martinez underneath arrest, Nunez approached her automobile and tried opening the passenger facet door.
When officers warned him he was interfering with a federal investigation and confronted arrest, the brazen tow truck driver allegedly shot again, threatening that “one thing was going to occur” to them.
Throughout this time, a second man approached Mafla-Martinez’s Tesla, forcing the officers to change their consideration to him.
Whereas distracted, Nunez allegedly “bought into his Dodge tow truck and towed one of many authorities automobiles that was boxing in Martinez’s car.”
“On the time of this interference, the federal government car had its keys inside and a firearm locked in a protected inside it as properly,” the grievance states.
Nunez was allegedly laughing and filming whereas towing away the federal government car after which posted the footage on social media, based on Fox Information.
A viral video of the incident posted on X by Performing United States Legal professional Invoice Essayli exhibits brokers cuffing the unlawful immigrant whilst one officer dashed after the runaway tow truck on foot.
The federal government car was finally discovered about two blocks away.
A Homeland Safety Investigation finally led to brokers monitoring Nunez down via movies posted on TikTok.
Cops positioned Nunez’s tow truck sitting in a marked spot on the identical upscale downtown LA condo advanced two days after the incident.
“Apparently he thought it might be humorous to intrude with our immigration enforcement operations,” Essayli wrote on X. “Now he can giggle behind bars whereas he faces justice.”
Nunez has been charged with theft of presidency property.
He faces as much as 10 years in federal jail if discovered responsible.
Regulation enforcement had been arresting Mafla-Martinez — who crossed the southern border illegally in 2022 and was promptly launched into the nation — after she was convicted of a DUI, triggering her arrest by the feds.
She was later taken to a federal detention middle in Calexico close to the Mexican border.
Her lawyer, Carlos Jurado, stated his consumer was focused for utilizing her large social media attain of greater than 47,000 followers to report ICE operations.
“The rationale she didn’t come out is, these are, these are masked males, and so they stated that they had a warrant. She simply wished them to show it, ‘Present me the warrant,’ and so they by no means displayed something,” stated Jurado.
with Submit wires
