PHOENIX (AZFamily)<\/b> \u2014 A father and son were charged after they attacked four federal agents during an immigration arrest on Monday but the father said he didn\u2019t know they were law enforcement, federal documents stated.<\/p>\n
According to the FBI, federal agents were looking into Santos Mendivil Contreras, Jr., who tried to buy guns two separate times in April but was denied because his visa expired in December 2022, so he was in the U.S. illegally.<\/p>\n
Homeland Security Investigations<\/a> special agents went to house on Cave Creek Road (no other crossroad was given) and tried talking to Contreras, but he shut the door on agents earlier this month, court paperwork said. The same agents tried again, but no one answered the door.<\/p>\n Then on Monday, four agents, including three who previously tried to contact Contreras, sat on the house and waited for him to come home. He eventually arrived in the neighborhood with his son, Emanuel Mendivil Cervantes, in a pickup truck.<\/p>\n The FBI said an agent, wearing a \u201cPolice\u201d-marked vest, turned on his emergency lights on an unmarked HSI vehicle, and that caused Contreras to speed on the street to his driveway.<\/p>\n Contreras got out and tried to get into the home when the agent said, \u201cPolice, don\u2019t move,\u201d according to the FBI. He lunged at the agent, grabbing the gun and the two fought over control of it, investigators said.<\/p>\n Another agent, who didn\u2019t have clothing saying he was law enforcement but had a badge on his belt, approached the truck and told Cervantes to stay in the truck, the FBI said. The other agent said, \u201cHe\u2019s got my gun,\u201d so the second agent helped the first agent get control of the gun.<\/p>\n The two agents and Contreras went to the ground, where the agents tried to put handcuffs on Contreras. They claim he was resisting while they said they were police and told him to stop resisting.<\/p>\n That\u2019s when his son got out of the truck and pushed and kicked the second agent. The first agent then tried to handcuff Cervantes.<\/p>\n A third agent arrived to help with the arrest of Contreras when Cervantes kicked the agent in the legs, the FBI said. The third agent said they were police and to stop fighting, to which Contreras replied, \u201che\u2019s just kicking you,\u201d court records said.<\/p>\n A fourth agent tried to help and was kicked by Cervantes, the FBI said. <\/p>\n During the fight, Contreras\u2019 mother came out of the house and tried to record what was happening but an agent took her cellphone. That\u2019s when Contreras bit the first agent on the back of the knee, the FBI said.<\/p>\n The agents eventually got handcuffs on the father and son and put them in the back of an HSI vehicle before driving off. Court paperwork said Contreras told one agent, \u201cI\u2019m gonna remember you,\u201d and \u201cI\u2019m gonna find you.\u201d<\/p>\n During the interview with HSI agents, Cervantes said he knew the agents were police but thought they were getting jumped so he pushed and kicked agents to protect himself and his father, court records said.<\/p>\n The FBI said Contreras told the agents he didn\u2019t see the police markings and denied grabbing the agent\u2019s gun. He claimed the second agent hit him in the face. Contreras also reportedly said he could have hurt the agents \u201cbadly\u201d if he wanted to. <\/p>\n He also said he was in a bar fight two weeks before the incident and \u201cthought the agents were the guys he got in a fight with and not actually law enforcement,\u201d court records stated.<\/p>\n Three of the four agents were treated and released from the hospital. The fourth only had scratches and cuts to his hands and didn\u2019t need medical help.<\/p>\n Contreras was charged in federal court on four counts of assault on a federal officer and one count of making a false statement during the purchase of a firearm.<\/p>\n Cervantes was charged with three counts of assault on a federal officer. Because it\u2019s in federal court, no mug shots have been released.<\/p>\n See a spelling or grammatical error in our story? Please click here to report it<\/a>.<\/p>\n