Ramon Tovar Jimenez, the Longview resident accused of assaulting a federal immigration officer during another arrest, could face additional charges from the U.S District Attorney's Office.
Federal officers were arresting another man — Valentin Martinez Tovar, 20, — on Monday when a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent says Tovar Jimenez, 35, attacked him.
ICE reports Martinez Tovar was in the Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma as of Friday afternoon.
The Longview man, Tovar Jimenez, is charged in Cowlitz County Superior Court with the felony of third-degree assault of a law enforcement officer.
He was released from county jail on Tuesday.
Tovar Jimenez was also originally arrested for obstructing a law enforcement officer, but he was not charged with the alleged crime.
No formal federal charges had been filed for him as of Friday afternoon, but according to Longview police's arresting report, the United States Marshals Service advised the local U.S District Attorney's Office it has plans to do so.
Court records show a person called 911 around 6:30 a.m. Monday to report people, pretending to be police, were assaulting a man in the parking lot of the Store N' Deli at 447 Oregon Way and across from the Oregon Way Tavern.
The caller suspected they were pretending to be the police because they were wearing vests and had guns, but were in a Ford Expedition with no license plates.
However, the Longview police report states the officers had markings clearly identifying them as law enforcement.
When Longview police arrived, officers report seeing three law enforcement agents surrounding a person already in handcuffs, with Tovar Jimenez in the back seat of a vehicle.
He is accused of assaulting a 46-year-old ICE agent.
The report does not state where the agent lives. Instead, the address listed matches that of the Edith Green-Wendell Wyatt Federal Building in Portland.
A federal immigration officer told the police Tovar Jimenez grabbed him by the head, pulled him back and began striking him with his knees and elbows.
The agent said he was hit in the body, and an elbow struck his face.
He told Longview police he tasted blood in his mouth and experienced tissue damage, while a Longview officer reports seeing redness and irritation on the inside of his lips and gums, according to the report.
He told Longview police "he wanted to be a victim of the assault," the report continues.
Tovar Jimenez told Longview police that the officers asked for his identification, so he gave them his ID.
He said the officers then approached the passenger side of the vehicle and began requesting identification from the other passengers.
A relative told The Daily News that the passenger detained by ICE — Martinez Tovar — is not a legal resident, but has no criminal history. A U.S. public records search by The Daily News also showed no criminal history for him.
Tovar Jimenez said the officers were "not being nice," as the federal agents removed the passengers.
When asked who he thought the officers represented, Tovar Jimenez said "I don't know, maybe the government," the report states.
Court records show Tovar Jimenez has a hearing scheduled for Dec. 8 in Cowlitz County Superior Court with a Spanish interpreter.
