EL PASO, Texas (Border Report) – Felony charges will stand against two migrants accused of assaulting contract detention officers at El Paso’s Service Processing Center.
Two others also accused of making physical contact with guards during a Feb. 5 disturbance inside the Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility will be held on misdemeanor assault charges.
That was the ruling by a federal judge during a Wednesday detention hearing in which attorneys for the four migrants grilled an ICE special agent over the official account of the incident and what security camera footage shows.
Luis Ramon Batista Romero, Jean Carlos Chavez Gutierrez, Luis Daniel Castillo Perozo and Bruno Emilio Castillo Colmenarez are accused of assaulting, resisting and impeding contract detention officers from doing their job.
The accusations stem from a series of altercations coming after detainees at dormitory 8B of the El Paso ICE facility complained about lack of running water and lack of information regarding their cases. Amid this charged environment, a contract officer approached Batista telling him he was in violation of center rules by wearing an earring.
The officer, who works for an ICE contractor, grabbed Batista by the arm as the migrant tried to walk away and a fracas ensued.
A federal complaint affidavit say Batista “swung and assaulted” the guard breaking his glasses, but the migrant’s lawyer suggested his client was just moving his arms to avoid being handcuffed. Batista also is accused of grabbing onto the rails of a bed and kicking his legs out to keep guards from approaching.
Chavez is accused of kicking a guard trying to restrain Batista, but the video doesn’t conclusively show he made contact, according to testimony at Wednesday hearing. Chavez allegedly has admitted kicking out his leg, but said he wasn’t aware he hit anyone.
Castillo Perozo is accused of running into a female guard trying to keep him away from the officers restraining Batista, then pinning her arm underneath her on the floor. On Wednesday, his attorney said her client was tackled from behind by a guard and that “a pile” of people fell on top of the female contract detention officer.
Security footage is inconclusive due to several guards surrounding the migrants.
Castillo Colmenarez is accused of “turning around” and striking a guard who saw him as a threat after he clenched his fist while his friend Batista was being subdued. Wednesday testimony and accounts of a review of the videos did not establish he turned around to throw a punch, though he may have made physical contact with the guard while trying to avoid handcuffs.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Miguel A. Torres ruled federal prosecutors met probable cause standards for a felony assault case against Batista and Chavez, and that misdemeanor charges can proceed against Castillo Perozo and Castillo Colmenarez.
Penalties for felony assaulting, resisting or impeding federal officers range from one to 20 years in prison, depending on whether weapons were used and the nature of injuries caused.
ICE Office of Professional Responsibility Special Agent George Fernandez said the migrants were at the detention facility awaiting deportation even before the Feb. 5 incident.
He explained water stoppages often are caused by detainees clogging toilets with socks. When that happens, detention center staff is instructed to let detainees use toilets in other dormitories.
At the time of the Feb. 5 incident, some 20 migrants were housed in the dormitory, and 20 to 25 contract detention officers arrived to control the situation, Fernandez testified. Voices were raised at the time, but mostly by the guards, he said under questioning by defense attorneys.
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