Two arrests made after ICE agent struck and fires shots during Route 72 incident in Stafford
A spokesperson from ICE tells News 12 the suspect's name is Friedrich Castillo-Ormeno, here illegally from Peru, and that an immigration judge ordered him to leave the country back in January. ICE did not mention why the suspect was ordered to leave.
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New information is emerging in the investigation involving an ICE agent who was struck by a vehicle and opened fire in Ocean County.
Law enforcement sources confirm two arrests have now been made in connection with the incident in Stafford Township.
Officials say the encounter happened Monday morning on busy Route 72 in Manahawkin as ICE agents were searching for a suspect identified as Friedrich Castillo-Ormeno. Authorities say Castillo-Ormeno, who is in the country illegally, had been ordered by an immigration judge to leave the United States back in January.
Tuesday coverage
Court documents say agents attempted a motor vehicle stop on a white van driven by Eduardo Cruz Garcia, with Castillo-Ormeno inside. Investigators say ICE agents surrounded the vehicle and asked the occupants to open the windows, but they refused.
According to court filings, Cruz Garcia then used the van as a weapon, striking an ICE agent.
Officials say the agent suffered an injury to his shin and was taken to the hospital for treatment.
The agent fired multiple rounds at the vehicle, with witnesses reporting the rear window was shattered.
Authorities say Cruz Garcia then struck another ICE vehicle before fleeing the scene.
Both men were later taken into custody in Barnegat, though authorities have not yet released full details on all charges.
The case remains under federal investigation.
“I saw the officer pretty much do a pirouette. He was hit and he fell to the ground. The van took off east on 72,” said Leann, who watched the events unfold at the traffic light.
Leann just got her morning coffee at Wawa and was at the intersection waiting to make a turn onto Route 72 from Mermaid Drive when she recorded several images showing an ICE agent on the ground after being hit by a fleeing suspect seconds earlier.
“It was him taking off, officer hit, boom, boom, boom. It was very quick. Within a second, absolutely,” she said.
“It was a white van. It had some sort of business emblem animal. I remember gray, feeling like it was a bulldog face, but it was some sort of cartoon animal,” said Leann.
“There’s a lot of police officers. There’s federal officers. What's going on?” asked Lisa Bradley, moments after the commotion began outside.
Bradley manages the Stafford Diner, run by her family since 1998. She didn’t hear the shots but praised the response of the police for keeping the area calm during the tense situation.
“We’re a family business. We know them, their families. It’s great they came in and everything was OK with them and our staff is doing OK,” said Bradley.
Leann says she saw the ICE officer stand briefly on his feet, before sitting back on the pavement.
“[The driver] accelerated. He went from zero to whatever a van can go to and hit that man,” said Leann.
Stafford Township police say they were not involved in the initial ICE operation. Officers responded after reports of shots fired, provided aid to the injured agent, searched for the suspect and secured the scene before the FBI took over the investigation.
Route 72 reopened just before 2 p.m.
