A Mexican national residing illegally in the United States has been charged with assaulting federal officers after allegedly using his vehicle to ram law enforcement vehicles during an attempted immigration arrest in South Los Angeles. The incident resulted in both the suspect and a deputy U.S. marshal sustaining gunshot wounds.
Carlitos Ricardo Parias, 44, of South Los Angeles, faces charges of assault on a federal officer. He is scheduled for an initial appearance in United States District Court in Los Angeles tomorrow.
"A vehicle is a deadly weapon,” said Acting United States Attorney Bill Essayli. “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.”
According to court documents, federal agents were conducting surveillance Tuesday morning on a block in the Historic South-Central area as part of an effort to execute an administrative immigration arrest warrant for Parias, who had previously evaded capture. Agents observed Parias leaving a residence and entering a gray Toyota Camry before driving eastbound.
Law enforcement positioned their vehicles to block Parias’s path. When he recognized one of the vehicles as law enforcement, he reversed his car but was soon boxed in by two additional law enforcement vehicles. Agents ordered him to exit the vehicle and submit to arrest; however, Parias did not comply and instead drove forward and backward into two police vehicles.
An agent then attempted to break the driver’s side window when Parias continued refusing orders and began accelerating more aggressively toward one of the blocking vehicles. The escalation produced large plumes of smoke from spinning tires and caused debris—likely rubber—to strike some agents at the scene.
Agents expressed concern that Parias’s actions could allow him to escape or potentially injure them due to loss of control over his vehicle amid aggressive maneuvers.
During this confrontation, a federal agent discharged their firearm, wounding both Parias and a deputy marshal who was hit by a ricochet bullet. Both are expected to recover from their injuries.
The complaint filed contains allegations only; all defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty beyond reasonable doubt in court proceedings.
If convicted on these charges, Parias could face up to eight years in federal prison.
The investigation is being conducted by Homeland Security Investigations and the FBI with support from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO), the U.S. Marshals Service, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). The General Crimes Section is prosecuting this case.
