A Southern California border agent accused of attacking a Long Beach police officer outside a restaurant and resisting arrest last month passed away just two days following his latest court appearance.
Isaiah Anthony Hodgson died on Friday, as reported by the coroner’s office in Riverside County, located east of Los Angeles. The cause of death is under investigation.
Earlier in the week, Hodgson, 29, appeared in court and had a preliminary hearing set for late September, according to court documents.
He was facing seven charges, which included three counts of resisting arrest, along with charges for battery causing injury to a police officer, carrying a concealed firearm in public, carrying a concealed firearm, and carrying a loaded firearm.
He faced seven years in prison if he were convicted. He pleaded not guilty to all charges, according to court records.
The charges were related to a July 7 incident where Hodgson was off-duty and reportedly unruly at a popular boardwalk spot brimming with restaurants and shops.
Allegations were made that he entered a women’s restroom at a restaurant and approached a woman who noticed his gun and firearm magazine. Witnesses claimed he exited the restaurant shortly after the woman informed the manager about a drunken man with a gun in the women’s restroom.
Investigators indicated that nearby security guards repeatedly asked Hodgson to depart, but he declined. When Long Beach police officers arrived, authorities stated, he remained defiant and uncooperative.
“As Hodgson resisted arrest, he allegedly became agitated and physical with the officers, injuring one of them,” Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman said at the time.
“The conduct exhibited by Mr. Hodgson, a border patrol agent who has the duty to uphold the law and protect its citizens, is unacceptable and deeply troubling,” Hochman added in a statement. “No one is above the law, regardless of their position or badge.”
