Mexican man pleads guilty to impersonating Border Patrol agent in San Diego

Summary

Jamie Ernesto Alvarez-Gonzalez pleaded guilty to impersonating a Border Patrol agent and to firearms-related charges tied to an incident during immigration enforcement in Southern California, federal prosecutors said. Prosecutors said the man in the United States followed a Border Patrol agent while the agent was on an immigration enforcement mission in San Diego on Jan. 8.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California, prosecutors said Alvarez-Gonzalez admitted that he was driving behind a Border Patrol agent that day in a San Diego neighborhood. Prosecutors said the agent aborted the mission after seeing Alvarez-Gonzalez following him, believing other agents were responding.

Prosecutors described Alvarez-Gonzalez’s vehicle as a black Ford F-150, a model prosecutors said is also used by undercover federal officers. They said the truck had a license plate with “federal truck” written on the frame in small letters and that the word “federal” was misspelled; prosecutors also said it had a Border Patrol sticker in the windshield and radio communications antennae on the roof. Prosecutors added that handcuffs were hung from the rearview mirror.

When real agents confronted Alvarez-Gonzalez, prosecutors said he “shouted obscenities and demanded agents leave the community of Linda Vista.” Prosecutors said three other cars arrived during the encounter and began harassing departing agents and chasing them on the highway.

Prosecutors also said Alvarez-Gonzalez had recorded a message in which he described himself as looking for federal agents working on immigration enforcement and said he had brought in “reinforcements.” Prosecutors said he also had a fake FBI badge.

Alvarez-Gonzalez pleaded guilty to one count of impersonating a federal agent and three counts of illegally possessing firearms, prosecutors said. His federal public defender did not respond to an emailed request for comment, prosecutors said.

Prosecutors said Alvarez-Gonzalez overstayed a tourist visa he used decades ago to enter the country.