SAN DIEGO (AP) — A Mexican national has entered a guilty plea for masquerading as a Border Patrol officer and interfering with federal immigration enforcement operations in Southern California.
Jamie Ernesto Alvarez-Gonzalez confessed to tailing a Border Patrol officer on January 8th while the agent conducted operations in a San Diego neighborhood, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California announced.
Federal prosecutors revealed that Alvarez-Gonzalez operated a black Ford F-150 pickup truck — the same model commonly used by undercover federal agents — equipped with deceptive government markings. The vehicle featured a license plate frame displaying “federal truck” in small print, though the word “federal” was incorrectly spelled. Additional modifications included a Border Patrol decal on the windshield, non-functional radio antennas mounted on the roof, and handcuffs dangling from the rearview mirror, court documents stated.
The legitimate Border Patrol agent abandoned his assignment after noticing Alvarez-Gonzalez’s surveillance, mistakenly assuming backup agents were responding to assist, federal prosecutors explained.
During a confrontation with authentic agents, Alvarez-Gonzalez “shouted obscenities and demanded agents leave the community of Linda Vista,” according to prosecutors. The situation escalated when three additional vehicles arrived and began intimidating the departing federal officers, pursuing them onto the highway.
Evidence presented by prosecutors included a recording in which Alvarez-Gonzalez stated he was actively searching for federal immigration enforcement personnel and had summoned his “reinforcements.” Authorities also discovered he possessed a counterfeit FBI badge.
The defendant entered guilty pleas to one charge of impersonating a federal agent and three charges of unlawful firearm possession. His federal public defender has not responded to requests for comment.
Court records indicate Alvarez-Gonzalez remained in the United States beyond the expiration of a tourist visa he had used to enter the country decades earlier, the U.S. Attorney’s Office disclosed.
