A Gary father formally admitted he damaged an ICE vehicle while trying to evade an immigration arrest when returning home from taking his teen son to high school in October.
Rosario Carrillo-Lopez, 53, pleaded guilty in federal court to forcibly impeding a federal officer through physical contact.
U.S. District Judge Gretchen Lund would have to accept the plea deal. A sentencing hearing is Aug. 5.
If she does, he would be sentenced to one year and one day. Once he is sentenced, it would be close to time served, his son Arnoldo Carrillo said Wednesday.
It was the best of bad options, he said.
His father was “tired” and “ready to get out,” he said.
Federal prosecutors and Carrillo-Lopez’s lawyer Roxanne Mendez Johnson declined comment.
His family has long disputed the ICE narrative that Carrillo-Lopez actively hit their vehicle. Deputy Prosecutor Thomas McGrath said in court the incident caused $3,800 in damage.
Mendez Johnson said her client was legally agreeing that “contact was made.”
Arnoldo previously told the Post-Tribune that ICE agents hit the GMC Arcadia. The front driver’s side and back passenger’s side lights were damaged.
“They came without warning,” Arnoldo said previously of the crash, on Clark Road between 5th and 6th Avenues. “He didn’t see them at all.”
His father, who owned a fencing company, drove over a curb and was able to evade agents that day. When he got home, Arnoldo saw him breathing heavily and afraid.
Days later, immigration agents raided their Gary home at around 6 a.m. Oct. 23.
They arrested Carrillo-Lopez hiding on the roof, plus his wife Martha, who was taken to an ICE facility in Texas before she was eventually released. She is in the process of applying for a green card.
Agents briefly arrested Arnoldo and his sister, Sarai, plus their teen brother Eli, then 14.
Arnoldo was released.
Sarai was indicted for allegedly attacking a federal agent, which she denies. The case is pending.
Eli spent two weeks in the Lake County Juvenile Detention Center. The teen’s case is now in “deferment” and may get dismissed by July, Arnoldo said Wednesday.
Arnoldo’s wedding is planned for July, which his father will miss. There will be an empty chair at the reception. They plan to send the video to him through his lawyer.
He said they are still waiting to see what will happen with his father’s immigration status — if he would leave the country, or try to fight it. Arnoldo thanked the community for their support.
Despite it, their family “still thinks God is good,” he said. and are “trying to look on the bright side.”
Post-Tribune archives contributed.
