Latest news with #MillerLawGroup
Yahoo
26-06-2025
- Yahoo
US citizen arrested by Border Patrol in Pico Rivera speaks out after violent arrest
The Brief Adrian Martinez was released from federal custody this week. Immigration officers arrested Martinez last week at the Pico Rivera Walmart after they said he punched two officers. Martinez was released because video of the arrest showed he didn't throw any punches. Martinez is being charged with conspiracy to impede or injure an officer. PICO RIVERA, Calif. - Following a federal hearing, Adrian Martinez was released from federal custody on a $5,000 bond this week. The 20-year-old was arrested by immigration officers at the Pico Rivera Walmart parking lot last week. The arrest was caught on camera. PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Feds say man punched agents at Pico Rivera Walmart - security footage shows no punches What we know Federal immigration agents arrested Martinez on June 18 in the Walmart parking lot, when he tried to intervene while agents were conducting one of their operations, detaining undocumented immigrants. U.S. Customs and Border Patrol told FOX 11 after the incident that they arrested Martinez for allegedly punching two officers. But, Judge Patricia Donahue determined the video of the arrest did not show Martinez hitting officers, like they claimed, although it did show him trying to block a federal vehicle. SUGGESTED: LA ICE raids: Food vendor detained is being 'treated like an animal,' family says "I was scared," Martinez said, adding that he kept trying to get up when the officers subdued him, because he was afraid to get hit. Attorneys from the Miller Law Group, who are representing Martinez, say he is being charged — not with assault, or attempted assault — but conspiracy to impede or injure an officer, a felony. "It is clearly a trumped-up charge field to justify the federal agents' treatment" attorneys wrote in their release. What they're saying Martinez said he was held downtown, along with shackled, undocumented immigrants, and feared he'd be deported, even as he tried to tell officers he was born in the US. "They wouldn't talk to me, even let me use a phone to call my family and let them know were I was," Martinez said. Martinez's mother said she tried to show Adrian's birth certificate to agents at the Federal building, but they told her that Adrian wasn't there, even as he was watching his own mom from a van. He could not let her know where he was. "These are the people we are supposed to trust," Adrian's mother said. Martinez's arrest and the accusation that he hit officers resulted in loud protests in Pico Rivera, where ICE raids have prompted complaints from the public and politicians. Martinez is due back in court next month. The Source Information in this story is from interviews with the Martinez family and the Miller Law Group, and previous FOX 11 reports.
Yahoo
26-06-2025
- Yahoo
U.S. citizen released, no assault charges after violent ICE arrest in L.A. County
Adrian Martinez, a 20-year-old U.S. citizen who was violently taken into custody by ICE agents in Pico Rivera, has been released from federal detention on a $5,000 bond, his attorneys announced Friday. 'We're very grateful our client will be released today,' said attorneys from the Miller Law Group. 'Adrian did nothing wrong, and was standing up for an elderly janitorial worker when he was violently assaulted and abducted by masked federal agents.' The incident occurred Tuesday in the parking lot of a large retail center that includes a Lowe's Home Improvement store in the 8600 block of Washington Boulevard. Video footage shows at least six federal law enforcement officers in a physical struggle with Martinez, who works at a nearby Walmart. Amid the chaos, someone can be heard shouting, 'He's a U.S. citizen!' Martinez appears to resist but is quickly taken to the ground and overpowered by additional agents before being placed in the back of a U.S. Customs and Border Protection vehicle. According to his family, Martinez intervened after witnessing ICE agents questioning a man, which escalated into a physical confrontation. The video does not show what happened immediately before the struggle, and it remains unclear what exactly led up to the incident. Since the footage went viral and sparked protests outside Pico Rivera City Hall, federal officials have pushed back on public criticism. 'Once again, a false narrative is and was being pushed out on the arrest of a U.S. Citizen in Pico Rivera, CA.,' U.S. Border Patrol Chief Patrol Agent Gregory K. Bovino said in a post to X. 'Don't take our word for it, check out [U.S. Attorney Eassayli's] take on it. This subject just caught a federal case for assault on a federal agent. DON'T ASSAULT.' Bovino was referring to an earlier post from U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli, who shared video of the incident on his official government X account and alleged that Martinez had punched 'a border patrol agent in the face after he attempted to impede their immigration operation.' L.A. Dodgers pledge $1 million to support immigrant communities after ICE raid backlash However, attorneys with the Miller Law Group say no assault charges were filed against Martinez. 'U.S. Attorney Essayli and U.S. Border Patrol Sector Chief Gregory Bovino outrageously alleged that Adrian assaulted a federal agent. However, he has not been charged with an assault charge because he didn't assault anyone, and the evidence of that is clear,' the law group said in a statement. 'Instead, he has been charged with conspiracy to impede or injure an officer, a felony. This is a clearly trumped-up charge filed to justify the federal agents' violent treatment of Adrian.' The Miller Law Group said it plans to release more details in the coming days but added that for now, they are 'happy that Adrian will be able to get some rest and spend the weekend at home with his family.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
