A Los Angeles man who admitted punching a border patrol officer during an anti-immigration enforcement protest last summer in Paramount is set to be sentenced Wednesday.
Christian Damian Cerna-Camacho, 29, pleaded guilty in December in downtown Los Angeles to a single charge of assault on a federal officer. The charge carries a possible sentence of up to eight years behind bars.
When agents from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security tried to detain Cerna-Camacho for the assault days after the June 11 protest, he attempted to flee in his vehicle.
Agents used their car to chase Cerna-Camacho’s vehicle, pinning it between two unmarked law enforcement vehicles on Whittier Boulevard in Boyle Heights.
Officials said the defendant’s car contained a woman passenger and two children in the back seat when the vehicle was pinned.
DHS released a statement explaining that the operation was a “targeted arrest” of a man described as a “violent rioter who punched a CBP officer,” referring to U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
“This was no hit and run,” the department posted on social media. “This was a targeted arrest of a violent rioter who punched a CBP officer. When Homeland Security Investigations tried to arrest (Cerna-Camacho) for the assault, he attempted to flee. He was ultimately arrested and taken into custody.”
DHS released video footage in June taken from a nearby business showing Cerna-Camacho’s arrest.