Huntington Park police arrest man possibly posing as Border Patrol agent

HUNTINGTON PARK, Calif. (KABC) -- Amid stepped up immigration arrests in the Los Angeles area, Huntington Park police said Friday they arrested a man who may have been posing as a federal agent.

Fernando Diaz, 23, was arrested Tuesday in the 7000 block of Alameda Street after officers came across an SUV parked in a handicapped zone, police said during an afternoon news conference.

When officers began the process of impounding the car, Diaz approached them.

"Having learned that the vehicle was being impounded, the individual requested to retrieve items from the vehicle that he claimed belonged to a friend," Huntington Park Police Chief Cosme Lozano said. "When questioned by the officers about the police-like items inside the vehicle, the individual claimed he formally worked as a security guard."

Lozano said officers searched the vehicle and found "a loaded 9mm semiautomatic firearm, two holsters and additional ammunition for the firearm, three cellphones, official-looking documents bearing the heading of Homeland Security Investigations and U.S. Customs and Border Protection, a sheet containing U.S. Customs and Border Protection radio codes, multiple copies of passports not registered under the individual's name and other miscellaneous items indicative of possible criminal activities."

When further questioned, Lozano said Diaz claimed he previously worked for Customs and Border Protection but couldn't produce valid credentials. Lozano said the department later learned Diaz had a prior arrest record related to human smuggling.

Diaz, who had an outstanding DUI warrant, allegedly claimed he was a CPB employee in 2022.

He was arrested for possession of the allegedly unregistered firearm, but later released on $5,000 bail.

"What this individual was doing with those items remains under investigation, but the presence of law-enforcement style equipment without any verified authority raises serious concerns," Mayor Arturo Flores said. "When people cannot trust who is enforcing the law, public safety is undermined."

City News Service contributed to this report.