An off-duty U.S. Border Patrol agent who was allegedly armed with a department-issued handgun has been charged with assaulting a Long Beach police officer and resisting arrest in a Long Beach parking lot, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office announced Friday.
Isaiah Anthony Hodgson, 29, is charged with three felony counts of resisting an executive officer, one felony count of battery with injury on a peace officer and one misdemeanor count each of exhibiting a concealable firearm in public, having a concealed firearm on one’s person and carrying a loaded firearm on one’s person, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
He pleaded not guilty in a Long Beach courtroom and was released Wednesday on his own recognizance, according to court records.
Hodgson has been ordered not to possess any firearms, not to leave California and to attend at least three alcohol counseling meetings a week as conditions of his release, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
Hodgson was allegedly off-duty and intoxicated when he entered the women’s restroom at a restaurant Monday in Shoreline Village and approached a female who saw his handgun and firearm magazine and notified the restaurant’s manager, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
A security guard who approached Hodgson outside the restaurant allegedly saw him holding a firearm magazine with a firearm on his waistband and informed him that firearms are not permitted on the property and asked him multiple times to leave, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
Long Beach police officers responded to the scene after getting a call about a person with a gun, and Hodgson allegedly became agitated and physical with the officers, with one being injured, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
“The conduct exhibited by Mr. Hodgson, a Border Patrol agent who has the duty to uphold the law and protect its citizens, is unacceptable and deeply troubling,” District Attorney Nathan Hochman said in a statement announcing the charges. “No one is above the law, regardless of their position or badge. Law enforcement officers have a responsibility to always conduct themselves with integrity and professionalism. Our office will pursue prosecution accordingly to ensure justice is served.”
Hodgson — who is due back in court next Thursday — faces a potential seven-year state prison sentence if convicted as charged, according to the District Attorney’s Office.