Illegal immigrants accused of stabbing NYPD detective to be arraigned
Retired NYPD Sgt. Joseph Imperatrice is calling for justice for Detective Jose Mercedes, who was wounded in a stabbing, as two migrants accused in the attack prepare to face arraignment in the Bronx. Imperatrice, the founder of Blue Lives Matter-NYC, says growing hostility toward law enforcement is putting officers at greater risk and urged public officials to protect those who serve.
A Honduran man whom federal authorities say was unlawfully present in the United States allegedly climbed onto his truck and repeatedly swung a hammer at Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers during a New Jersey traffic stop this month, prosecutors said.
Reinieri De Jesus Licona Amador, 27, faces charges of assaulting federal officers. He appeared Monday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Elizabeth A. Pascal in Camden federal court, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey.
“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. “We will not allow violent attacks on federal officers to go unanswered and will hold those responsible accountable under the law.”
Federal prosecutors allege that a man climbed onto the passenger-side door of his truck and repeatedly swung a hammer at ICE officers during an attempted arrest in Gibbsboro, New Jersey. (U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey.)
The confrontation unfolded during a targeted ICE operation in Gibbsboro, prosecutors said, after officers ran a license-plate check on a truck traveling through the area.
The truck was registered to Licona Amador, and an immigration-records search indicated that he did not have lawful status in the United States, according to the criminal complaint.
Officers then activated their emergency lights and pulled over Licona Amador’s vehicle, prosecutors said.
Federal prosecutors said Reinieri De Jesus Licona Amador allegedly climbed onto his truck’s passenger-side door and repeatedly swung a hammer at ICE officers during an Oct. 4 confrontation in Gibbsboro, New Jersey. (U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey.)
As officers approached, they allegedly saw Licona Amador reach into a tool container in the back seat and grab a hammer, the complaint states.
Prosecutors said officers ordered him to stop moving, but he refused. Officers then opened the truck door and tried to pull him from the vehicle.
Licona Amador allegedly broke away and moved toward the passenger side, where officers again attempted to restrain him without success.
He then climbed out of the passenger side while holding the hammer and continued to disregard repeated commands from officers, according to the complaint.
ICE officers were allegedly threatened with a hammer during a targeted immigration enforcement operation in Gibbsboro, New Jersey, on Oct. 4, 2026. (U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey)
Licona Amador allegedly climbed onto the passenger-side door and swung the hammer at officers several times, prosecutors said.
Officers responded by deploying oleoresin capsicum spray, commonly called pepper spray, before wrestling him to the ground, prosecutors said.
He was taken into custody without injury. If convicted of assaulting federal officers with a deadly or dangerous weapon, Licona Amador could face up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
