June 17, 2026
Thom Carooll/For PhillyVoice
An Ocean County man was charged with assaulting a federal officer after allegedly striking an ICE agent with a van in Manahawkin on Monday morning.
A driver who allegedly ran his van into an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent during a traffic stop on Monday was arrested, federal authorities said.
Eduardo Cruz Garcia, 39, of Barnegat Township, Ocean County, was detained Tuesday and charged with assaulting and injuring a federal officer, the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the District of New Jersey said Wednesday morning. The officer, who was attempting to apprehend a different person during the traffic stop, sustained injuries to his shin and thigh.
"As alleged, the defendant weaponized his vehicle and conducted an egregious assault on a federal law enforcement officer during the course of his official duties," U.S. Attorney Robert Frazer said in a statement. "The job is hard enough. Law enforcement must be able to carry out their duties without fear of obstruction or even worse, assault."
According to a criminal complaint released Wednesday, officers wearing vests labeled "ICE Police," pulled over a white van being driven by Cruz Garcia as part of an investigation in Manahawkin on Route 72 near Mermaid Drive. Another person was in the passenger seat at the time of the stop.
The agents asked the passengers to roll down the van’s windows, but they refused, the complaint said. Instead, Cruz Garcia allegedly drove the van forward and sideswiped an agent who was standing next to the driver’s side window, causing his body to be wedged in between the van and an ICE vehicle.
The agent fell to the ground yelling in pain and Cruz Garcia continued driving and struck another official vehicle as he fled the scene, prosecutors said.
The agent, who has not been identified, sustained injuries to his thigh and shin and required medical attention at a local hospital. During the collision, the officer discharged his gun and reportedly struck the van as it was driving away, Stafford Township police said.
"Let these charges against Cruz Garcia be a staunch reminder that assaulting and obstructing ICE law enforcement, as alleged here, is a serious crime and a felony," Arthur Wilson Jr., acting field office director for ICE-ERO Newark, said in a statement Wednesday. "Violence against our federal law enforcement officers as ICE carries out our daily mission in accordance with U.S. immigration law will not be tolerated."
An ICE spokesperson said Monday that the agent was conducting a "targeted vehicle stop" to apprehend Friedrich Castillo-Ormeno, an undocumented immigrant from Peru who had been ordered to leave the country in January.
A representative with ICE did not respond to request for comment about whether Castillo-Ormeno was present at the scene.
