San Diego, California – A Mexican national is facing federal charges after authorities say he used his car as a weapon while agents attempted to arrest him in National City, injuring one officer so severely that he required hospitalization and a wheelchair.
Prosecutors say Roberto Carlos Galeana-Guatemala was taken into custody after a chaotic early-morning confrontation on November 12, when Homeland Security Task Force agents tried to execute a federal arrest warrant outside an apartment complex. Galeana-Guatemala, who had been removed from the United States earlier this year following an immigration-related conviction, is charged with assault with a deadly weapon causing bodily injury and illegally reentering the country. According to the criminal complaint, agents positioned their vehicles in front of a Honda believed to be driven by Galeana-Guatemala around 4:25 a.m. and loudly identified themselves as police. Instead of complying, he allegedly threw the car into reverse and attempted to escape.
Agents pursued on foot, shouting for him to stop as more law enforcement vehicles arrived and activated their emergency lights to block his exit. Galeana-Guatemala tried to maneuver around the blockade, according to authorities, stopping just a foot from the bumper of one police vehicle before suddenly speeding away…