An undocumented immigrant who lives in Los Angeles was charged Wednesday with a felony for allegedly spitting on a federal agent executing a warrant for his arrest earlier this week.
Omar Pulido Bastida, 41, of the Historic South Central neighborhood of Los Angeles, is charged with one federal count of assault on a federal employee, an offense carrying a possible penalty up to eight years behind bars, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Bastida, who was separately charged earlier this year with being an undocumented immigrant found in the United States following removal, was arrested and made his initial appearance Tuesday in Santa Ana federal court, officials said.
A federal magistrate judge ordered him detained and scheduled his arraignment for July 16 in U.S. District Court in downtown Los Angeles. He is expected to make his initial appearance in the case in the coming days.
“This defendant found out the hard way: When you spit, we hit — with a felony charge,” U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli said in a statement. “Law enforcement officers risk their lives and safety to uphold the law. To treat them with the disrespect, like this defendant did, mocks our great nation and such behavior will be punished accordingly.”
According to an affidavit, a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement deportation officer arrived at Bastida’s residence Tuesday to execute the arrest warrant on the illegal re-entry charge. After knocking on the door, the officer identified himself as law enforcement with a warrant, officials said. Bastida, looking down on the officer from a second-story balcony, responded by insulting the officer, federal prosecutors said.
Several minutes later, the officer saw Bastida open the front door, which had an iron security gate separating the two men, officials said. When the officer told Bastida there was an arrest warrant for him, Bastida said, “No, get out of here. I know my rights. I’m calling my lawyer,” and then spat through the iron security gate onto the officer, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
At the time, the officer was leaning his head against the grated security gate to be able to see Bastida and felt the spit on his face, court papers show. After spitting on the officer, prosecutors said, Bastida retreated back into the residence.
Shortly afterwards, ICE officers forced entry into the residence and allegedly found him hiding in a second-story storage room. Bastida then said, “OK, you got me,” and was arrested, prosecutors said.