The Otay Mesa port of entry. (File photo courtesy of GSA)
Authorities on Friday named the man who suffered minor injuries when U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents opened fire on him in Otay Mesa.
Humberto Chavarria-Cervantes, 59, a U.S. citizen from Los Angeles, allegedly tried to speed past a vehicle-inspection area at the Otay Mesa Port of Entry Monday morning, and is said to have nearly run down the officers in the process.
Chavarria-Cervantes was cut by flying glass when bullets shattered the windshield of the vehicle he was driving, according to the San Diego Police Department, which investigates shootings on the part of CBP personnel under terms of a regional agreement designed to prevent conflicts of interest.
The incident began when Chavarria-Cervantes drove into the border inspection and processing station from Mexico, Lt. Arturo Swadener said.
When agents directed him to secondary inspection, Chavarria-Cervantes instead sped off toward the north end of the facility, according to police. Finding that way out blocked by other’ vehicles, he turned and allegedly headed back to the south at high speed, directly toward a group of CBP personnel.
Officers Richard Labak, Hugo Osuna and Jerald Talob responded by firing on the vehicle, which then rolled to a stop. At that point, Chavarria-Cervantes surrendered, and paramedics took him to a hospital for treatment of superficial facial lacerations.
Labak has been with the federal agency for 22 years, Osuna for two and Talob for six, officials said.
Chavarria-Cervantes has been charged by federal prosecutors with assaulting, resisting, or impeding a federal officer.
A statement authored by a Homeland Security Investigations special agent that was filed in federal court states that a CBP officer took notice of a knife on the front passenger floorboard in Chavarria-Cervantes’ vehicle. A device used to detect potential contraband in vehicles also picked up “unusually high-density readings” from the car’s dashboard.
After his arrest, Chavarria-Cervantes told investigators that while he was trying to flee the inspection area, he did not intend to hit any of the responding officers, according to the court document.