Honduran illegal immigrant charged with assaulting ICE officers with hammer during New Jersey traffic stop
ICE Officer Assaulted in New Jersey Traffic Stop
A 27‑year‑old Honduran national was arrested this month in a violent confrontation with federal agents during a routine traffic stop in Gibbsboro, New Jersey. The incident, which unfolded amid a targeted Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operation, has led to charges that could carry up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
The suspect, Reinieri De Jesús Licona Amador, was pulled over by ICE officers after a license‑plate check revealed that the vehicle—a truck registered in his name—was operating in the area without lawful status in the United States. Federal prosecutors said the officers, who were conducting a “targeted ICE operation,” activated their emergency lights and ordered Amador to stop.
Instead of complying, the driver reached into a tool container in the back seat and seized a hammer. When the agents instructed him to cease moving, he refused. Officers then opened the truck door and attempted to remove him, but Amador pulled away and moved to the passenger side of the vehicle. The agents again tried to restrain him, but he climbed onto the passenger‑side door and repeatedly swung the hammer at them.
“Federal officers put themselves in harm’s way to enforce the law and protect the public,” U.S. Attorney Robert Frazer said in a statement. “When an individual responds to a traffic stop by attacking an officer with a hammer, that conduct threatens not only the officer’s safety but the rule of law itself.” Frazer added that the agency would hold those responsible “accountable under the law.”
The officers deployed oleoresin capsicum spray—commonly known as pepper spray—during the confrontation and wrestled Amador to the ground. No officers or other bystanders were injured. Amador was taken into custody without incident and faced a federal indictment for assaulting federal officers with a deadly or dangerous weapon.
Amador appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Elizabeth A. Pascal in Camden federal court on Monday. He has pleaded not guilty, and his case is scheduled for trial later this year.
ICE officials said the incident was part of a broader effort to enforce immigration law in the region. The targeted operation that led to the stop was focused on vehicles that had been flagged by the agency’s database as potentially associated with unlawful presence in the United States.
If convicted, Amador could be sentenced to up to two decades behind bars and a substantial financial penalty. The charges reflect the seriousness with which federal prosecutors view attacks on ICE officers, whom they say “will not allow violent attacks on federal officers to go unanswered.”
The case is currently proceeding through the federal court system, and further updates will be reported as the proceedings develop.
