A Charlotte resident and legal US citizen is now facing up to 8 years in federal prison after fleeing from ICE officials and border patrol agents during ‘Operation Charlotte’s Web‘ in November.
According to the Department of Justice, 24-year-old Miguel Angel Garcia Martinez is being accused of leading federal immigration agents on a chase in University City, driving aggressively, and crashing into a vehicle carrying four officers. A federal grand jury returned the indictment Thursday, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Western North Carolina.
Prosecutors say immigration officers tried to contact Garcia Martinez on Nov. 16 after spotting his Dodge Sprinter van near enforcement activity. Authorities say Garcia Martinez fled as agents approached. After traveling down University City Boulevard and swerved through traffic, prosecutors say the van struck a vehicle occupied by four federal officers. He was then arrested and taken into custody by federal agents.
Dash-camera footage from the pursuit captured federal agents saying, “I don’t wanna damage up my F***ing car dude,” and “He’s gonna get shot, that’s what’s gonna happen,” during the pursuit.
The indictment charges Garcia Martinez with assaulting, resisting, opposing, impeding, and interfering with federal officers performing official duties. If convicted, he faces up to eight years in prison, prosecutors said.
Garcia Martinez’s attorney, John Park Davis, told WFAE that agents “assaulted” his client for recording them in public. He also called the agents’ conduct “unconstitutional aggression” that put lives at risk.
Federal officials said ICE, Border Patrol, Homeland Security Investigations, and the FBI assisted the case. Garcia Martinez is presumed innocent unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
