Update: Pasco sex offender charged with injuring ICE agents reaching inside truck
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Pasco man accused of assaulting two ICE officers who had arrest warrant.
- He drove off when he was not shown the arrest warrant while still in his pickup.
- He was later arrested and will appear before a judge in Richland federal court.
A Pasco man who was on probation after a child sex crime is accused of assaulting two Immigration and Customs Enforcement deportation officers who had an administrative warrant for “arrest of an alien.”
An administrative warrant is signed by an ICE official rather than a judge.
Victor Martin Lara-Lopez, 41, made his first appearance in federal court Thursday, and federal prosecutors said he is a registered sex offender.
He pleaded guilty in Benton County Superior Court in 2022 to second degree child molestation with the aggravating circumstance of being in a position of trust and was sentenced to three years in prison followed by three years of probation, according to court documents and information from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern Washington District. He also was prohibited with having contact with children.
The incident for which he now is charged in federal court started when two ICE officers were watching what they thought might be his home on the 100 block of South Elm Street about 5 a.m. on June 13. They saw a pickup for a flooring business parked across the street from the house.
The older-model Ford F-350 had a Washington license plate registered to Lara-Lopez and a man was inside, according to court documents.
One officer turned on his emergency lights and pulled in behind the pickup and the second agent also turned on emergency lights and pulled in front of the pickup at an angle to block it in with the government SUV.
Both agents were wearing ICE-issued ballistic vests with “POLICE” patches on the front and back.
The male agent was not wearing a face covering, but the female agent was, according to a court document signed by a FBI special agent.
Court documents did not say whether the government vehicles were marked or unmarked.
Account of alleged assault
Here’s what the document says happened:
One agent ordered Lara-Lopez, who was in the driver’s seat, to roll down the window, and he lowered it halfway.
The agent then ordered him to turn off the pickup, which had a noisy diesel engine that made conversation difficult.
Lara-Lopez refused and also refused to show identification.
He asked in Spanish, “Why do you need my name?” and then said, “You don’t need my name.”
One agent then asked if he was Victor Lara-Lopez and said she had a warrant for his arrest. The other agent recognized him from a driver’s license photo he had previously seen.
The female agent asked Lara-Lopez to step out of the pickup.
He asked to see the warrant first and the officer said she would show him once he got out.
Lara-Lopez began to roll up the window, but the female agent stepped on the pickup’s running board to try to keep the window down.
Lara-Lopez started to back up the pickup, as she reached through the window to take the keys from the ignition, but the pickup continued.
Both officers were struggling with Lara-Lopez through the half-closed window to gain control of his hands and the steering wheel.
After going backwards about a foot, Lara-Lopez began driving forward and both agents jumped away to avoid being crushed between the pickup and the government SUV.
Lara-Lopez veered the pickup onto the sidewalk, hitting the SUV, and pulling its front bumper off.
The two agents did not pursue him, but called Pasco Police Department for assistance.
The male officer had bruises consistent with his arm being in the window of the pickup and the female officer had pain, stiffness and loss of mobility in her left shoulder, which was in the window of the pickup as it drove away.
Suspect arrested
Lara-Lopez was arrested on Tuesday, July 15, when law enforcement officers saw him in the same pickup on Highway 12 between Walla Walla and Pasco, Wash., according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Eastern Washington.
An adult and a juvenile got out of the pickup when law enforcement stopped it, but Lara-Lopez refused to get out until he was told that a police dog had been called to respond, according to federal prosecutors.
Each count of assault on a federal officer carries a maximum penalty of up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Law enforcement officers often “must contact individuals with serious criminal histories who do not want to be apprehended and present a danger to our community, said acting U.S. Attorney Stephanie Van Marter. “It is not uncommon for law enforcement to be assaulted in the course of doing the job, which is not lawful and should never be acceptable.”
This story was originally published July 17, 2025 at 5:00 AM.