An undocumented Ocean County man has been arrested and charged with assaulting and injuring a federal officer after he allegedly struck an ICE agent with his van during a vehicle stop, U.S. Attorney Robert Frazer announced Wednesday.
The agent fired his weapon during the encounter and was treated at a local hospital and released, according to the announcement.
The confrontation happened around 9:30 a.m. Monday on Route 72 near Mermaid Drive in the Manahawkin section of Stafford Township. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said its officers were conducting a targeted vehicle stop when the driver struck an agent with the vehicle and fled.
“The driver then weaponized his vehicle and struck an officer resulting in the officer discharging his weapon,” an ICE spokesperson said. Police said the agent’s gunfire hit the van as it drove off.
The driver escaped the scene and remained at large for more than a day, prompting a manhunt led by the FBI, which took over the investigation. Two law enforcement sources told New Jersey 101.5 that the driver later walked into a hospital for treatment of a gunshot wound and that the hospital notified the FBI. The man was taken into custody after seeking that treatment, the sources said.
The identity of the man taken into custody had not been publicly confirmed by federal authorities. ICE identified the person its officers were trying to arrest as Friedrich Castillo-Ormeno, a Peruvian national who the agency said was given a final order of removal by an immigration judge on Jan. 30. Family members publicly disputed that identification, saying Castillo-Ormeno had returned to Peru in March.
Stafford Township police said they did not assist ICE with the operation, citing New Jersey’s Immigrant Trust Directive, which limits local cooperation with federal immigration enforcement. Officers said they responded once the agent was injured, secured the scene and helped get the agent to a hospital. The response drew criticism from those who want closer local cooperation with ICE.
ICE said the incident fits a pattern of attacks on its officers, citing a more than 3,300 percent increase reported by the Department of Homeland Security.
A charge of assaulting a federal officer and causing bodily injury carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
