An Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent is facing drunken driving charges after police said his car jumped a curb and crashed into a hedgerow in the west suburbs.
Guillermo Diaz-Torres, 33, of Albuquerque, New Mexico, will be arraigned next month in DuPage County following a one-car crash in Oak Brook on Oct. 26. Police allege he failed several field-sobriety tests, including balancing, walking in a straight line and reciting the alphabet.
If convicted, Diaz-Torres could face penalties ranging from probation to up to a year in jail. Throughout its immigration crackdown, the Trump administration repeatedly has referred to drunken driving as a justifiable reason for noncitizens to be detained and deported.
“Operation Midway Blitz,” the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s mass deportation effort in the Chicago area, was named in honor of a young suburban woman who was killed by a man accused of driving drunk while being in the country without the legal paperwork.
According to police video obtained by the Tribune, Diaz-Torres told officers he had just finished working an 18-hour shift at the ICE holding facility in Broadview and was heading straight to his hotel in Lombard. Though it was nearly 2 a.m. and Broadview is less than 10 miles away, Diaz-Torres couldn’t account for his whereabouts during the roughly 90-minute period after his shift ended and said he didn’t know which direction he had traveled after work.
“I have no idea, sir,” he tells police on the video. “I’m not from here.”
Reached on his cellphone Wednesday, Diaz-Torres said he still is in the Chicago area. He declined further comment, as did his attorney, Michael Baker.
An ICE spokeswoman did not specifically address the charges or the officer’s status in a statement to the Tribune.
“ICE is committed to maintaining the highest standards of integrity and professionalism among its workforce,” spokeswoman Erin Bultje wrote in an email. “The agency’s Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) is responsible for investigating allegations of misconduct involving ICE employees and will ensure that any such matters are thoroughly reviewed. ICE cooperates fully with law enforcement authorities when necessary.”
A Westmont officer was the first to encounter Diaz-Torres, who fell asleep behind the wheel of a rented silver 2025 Kia Telluride, at the intersection, according to a police report. After the officer tapped on the window, Diaz-Torres accelerated, the report states, and the car ended up in a hedgerow on the Oak Brook border, meaning the incident fell within Oak Brook’s jurisdiction.
“He knows he can’t go straight, right?” Oak Brook police Officer Viktor Gadjanski says on the video after arriving at the T-shaped intersection and seeing the Kia half buried in shrubbery.
“Oh this is a fun one,” the Westmont police officer responds sarcastically, handing Gadjanski what appears to be the agent’s driver’s license and federal employee identification. “It gets better.”
The Westmont officer tells Gadjanski that Diaz-Torres has a firearm in a backpack in the Kia’s backseat, according to the recording.
“Oh, great,” Gadjanski says on the video as he reads the identification.
On the recording, Gadjanski asks the Westmont officer if the motorist is “55,” slang for DUI, to which the Westmont officer nods and responds he would “catch it” as soon as he was near the driver. Gadjanski immediately called for his supervisor and then approaches the motorist.
Diaz-Torres, wearing jeans, a zip-up dark jacket and white gym shoes, is standing near the Kia, his hands behind his back. Throughout the 20-minute roadside exchange with police he is calm and respectful, though police reports state that his speech was slurred, his eyes were bloodshot and authorities detected a strong odor of alcohol.
“Do you know what happened today?” Gadjanski asks the agent.
“100 percent,” Diaz-Torres responds on the recording. “Got off shift. I came here. You guys have a checkpoint. (This) doesn’t look good.”
On the video, the New Mexico resident said he’s been in the area for at least 45 days and was heading straight back to his Lombard hotel without making other stops after working in Broadview from 6 a.m. to midnight.
“Like I said, I’m not from here,” the motorist said, according to the video. “I usually always type in GPS and I’m here now.”
Officers appear to look over Diaz-Torres’ identification and proof of insurance, as Oak Brook police Sgt. Christian Bartnicki arrives at the scene and surveys the crash aftermath. The Kia narrowly missed a pedestrian crosswalk sign and pole, the video shows.
“Do what you gotta do. None of that matters,” Bartnicki advises Gadjanski as they review the documents on the recording. “This is unacceptable.”
The video, which was obtained through the Freedom of Information Act, contains two muted exchanges, both of which involved a patrolman seeking a supervisor’s assistance. About a half dozen police officers and squads from the two suburban police agencies had gathered at the one-car crash investigation.
“I want to make sure you’re OK to drive,” Gadjanski says on the video, as he explains why he wants Diaz-Torres to take field-sobriety tests. “Just because, again, just looking at the situation here, it’s not making sense.”
As police further secure the area and check Diaz-Torres’ background, Gadjanski continues to ask the agent questions, including about his ICE duties, the video shows.
“I know you guys are doing a lot of stuff,” the officer asks on the recording. “The protests still going on over there?”
“Yes, sir, yeah,” Diaz-Torres responds on the video, continually licking his lips throughout the exchange. “We’re in the building, transport and a bunch of (inaudible) …”
According to the police report, Diaz-Torres failed balancing tests, walking in a straight line and reciting the alphabet. He repeatedly struggles to keep his foot up 6 inches off the ground as instructed while counting during the one-leg stand test, according to the video.
“I’m horrible at balancing,” he says in the recording. “I can’t balance.”
The video shows Gadjanski handcuffing and placing the ICE agent under arrest after he refused to undergo a breath analysis, telling police, “I’m not going to do that.”
Diaz-Torres, who did not resist arrest, denied drinking alcohol and did not directly answer the officer’s questions about where he had been since midnight, according to the video. ”On the recording, he can be heard asking for his cellphone after his arrest so “I can call my chain of command.”
According to an Oak Brook police report, Diaz-Torres’ supervisor — Joel Canedo, also listed as an ICE employee — picked him up later that morning. Diaz-Torres, who is scheduled to appear in court Dec. 5, faces possible suspension of his driver’s license for refusing the breath analysis, court records show.
The police records do not specify if Diaz-Torres’ returned to his home in Albuquerque or is still in Chicago working the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.
