The Department of Justice filed criminal charges Tuesday against a man they say was behind the wheel of a tow truck that drove off with a federal agent’s vehicle as the agent was arresting a popular TikTok influencer in Los Angeles last month.
Bobby Nunez, 33, of South Los Angeles is accused of theft of government property and is due in federal court Tuesday.
Nunez allegedly interfered with federal law enforcement officers on Aug. 15 in downtown Los Angeles as they were trying to arrest Tatiana Mafla-Martinez, 23, who is suspected of living in the country illegally, according to an affidavit filed in support of the criminal complaint.
Videos of the arrest went viral as Martinez was live on TikTok when she was arrested. Recordings by witnesses showed officers dragging Martinez out of her car by her legs and arms before placing her on the ground and handcuffing her. Federal authorities accused Martinez of not being compliant during the arrest.
Martinez’s attorney, Carlos Jurado, could not immediately be reached for comment. But in an interview with ABC7, he said his client feared for her safety.
“The reason she didn’t come out is, these are, these are masked men, and they said they had a warrant. She just wanted them to display it, ‘Show me the warrant,’ and they never displayed anything,” he said.
He told the station that his client was targeted because she was using her platform to film Immigration and Customs Enforcement activities in Los Angeles, such as the arrest of a strawberry delivery driver. Her account shows an array of videos about crime incidents, food and clothing giveaways as well as immigration related videos about potential raids and the location of past operations.
Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said that Martinez had been convicted for driving under the influence in Los Angeles and had entered the country illegally in 2022, but was released. Jurado told ABC7 that Martinez arrived from Colombia.
“During her arrest, Martinez claimed to experience shortness of breath,” McLaughlin said in a written statement to The Times. “She was given proper medical treatment and will be held in ICE custody pending removal proceedings.“
She said a tow truck driver had also towed a government vehicle that was involved in Martinez’s arrest.
“He mocked and videotaped ICE officers chasing after him,” she said in the statement. “Secretary Noem has been clear: Anyone who seeks to impede law enforcement will be found and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
At least two government law enforcement vehicles were used to box in Martinez’s vehicle as she was about to exit the parking structure of the Da Vinci Apartments near Fremont Avenue and Temple Street.
At the time, witnesses told The Times that they saw three men in masks apprehend a woman in a Tesla who was leaving the parking garage of the Da Vinci, an apartment building on Temple Street next to the 110 Freeway in downtown Los Angeles. A nearby worker, who was standing across the street, told The Times that the men threw her to the ground and had their knees on her neck.
“They treated her like an animal,” said Willie Lopez, a maintenance supervisor.
Footage from Martinez’s live recording on TikTok shows her camera facing the passenger seat. In the background, a woman is telling an agent to wait as he yells at her to get out of the car.
“I’m going to get out but wait,” she says in Spanish before screaming as the agents appear to pull her out.
Federal authorities alleged that as they were trying to arrest Martinez, Nunez walked up to the suspect’s vehicle and tried to open the passenger door. An officer told Nunez that they were conducting a “federal investigation” and threatened to arrest him, according to affidavit.
Officers became distracted when a second man approached the vehicle. By then, Nunez began toward his tow truck.
“Nunez got into his tow truck and towed one of the government vehicles that was boxing in Martinez’s vehicle,” the affidavit read. “At the time of this interference, the government vehicle had keys inside as well as a firearm locked in a safe also inside the vehicle.”
One of the officers chased the tow truck on foot and saw that Nunez was “laughing” as he recorded the officer with his cell phone, according to the affidavit.
Over the next few days, Department of Homeland Security agents began gathering evidence including reviewing social media videos and locating a tow truck at the same apartment complex that helped them conclude it belong to Nunez. It’s unclear when Nunez was arrested, but if convicted, he would face a statutory maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison.
A Times investigation in July found that the aggressive pursuit of federal charges against people protesting immigration enforcement in Southern California has led to weak cases being rejected again and again by grand juries. A number of others have been dismissed.
Staff Writer Brittny Mejia contributed to this report
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