A Los Angeles tow truck driver has been charged with theft of government property after he allegedly towed away an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) vehicle while agents were apprehending a Colombian TikTok influencer.
Bobby Nunez, 33, was taken into custody on Tuesday after he interfered as federal agents were arresting Tatiana Mafla-Martinez, 23, in downtown Los Angeles on Aug. 15, according to a release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Central District of California.
Mafla-Martinez, a Colombian national, illegally crossed into the United States in 2022 and was quickly released into the country, the New York Post reported, citing law enforcement sources. She used her platform to film ICE agents in Los Angeles and report on their whereabouts amid immigration enforcement efforts there.
ICE agents used two government vehicles with flashing lights to box in Mafla-Martinez’s vehicle and prevent her from escaping from a luxury high-rise parking garage when Nunez allegedly approached and pressed the passenger side door of Mafla-Martinez’s vehicle on one of the officers, who threatened him with arrest.
After being warned he was interfering in a federal investigation, Nunez allegedly swore at the agents and threatened that “something was going to happen” to them.
During this time, a second man approached Mafla-Martinez’s vehicle, which caused the officers to turn their attention to him. As this was occurring, Nunez allegedly “got into his Dodge tow truck and towed one of the government vehicles that was boxing in Martinez’s vehicle.”
“At the time of this interference, the government vehicle had its keys inside and a firearm locked in a safe inside it as well,” according to the Central District of California U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Nunez was reportedly laughing and filming while towing the government vehicle away and later posted video of the incident on social media.
In a viral video of the incident posted on X by Acting U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California Bill Essayli, agents handcuffed Mafla-Martinez as one officer ran after the tow truck on foot.
The ICE vehicle was ultimately located approximately two blocks away.
Law enforcement discovered Nunez’s tow truck parked in an assigned space at the same luxury downtown L.A. apartment complex two days after the incident occurred.
“Apparently, he thought it would be funny to interfere with our immigration enforcement operations,” Essayli wrote on X. “Now he can laugh behind bars while he faces justice.”
If found guilty, Nunez faces up to 10 years in federal prison.
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