Man Shot by Border Patrol Agent in Portland Faces Assault Charges

According to the Justice Department, Luis David Nino-Moncada was charged with aggravated assault of a federal officer with a deadly or dangerous weapon and damaging federal property in excess of $1,000.

The Oregonian reported that Nino-Moncada was arrested by FBI agents at Portland’s OHSU Hospital, where he was being treated for the gunshot wound he received on his arm, and was booked into a prison on Sunday afternoon.

Nino-Moncada and a woman, Yorlenys Betzabeth Zambrano-Contreras, were shot by Border Patrol agents inside their truck in the parking lot of a hospital in East Portland last week, triggering protests across the city.

The DOJ has accused Nino-Moncada of being a member of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua and said the CBP agents were carrying out an immigration enforcement operation targeting a vehicle belonging to a woman “involved in a Tida prostitution ring.”

The statement alleged that Nino-Moncada reversed his vehicle and collided with an “unoccupied Border Patrol vehicle” after being commanded to exit the truck.

The DOJ then added that the unoccupied CBP vehicle was hit by the truck multiple times as it attempted to reverse out of the parking lot, and a border patrol agent said they were “fearful that Nino-Moncada could strike them.”

What do we know about Nino-Moncada’s appearance in court?

Nino-Moncada made his first federal court appearance on Monday afternoon. According to an affidavit filed before the court by the FBI, six Border Patrol agents were present at the scene of the incident and interviewed four of them. The filing did not identify the agent who fired the gunshots, but one of the interviewed agents told investigators that Nino-Moncada “raised his hands after shots were fired, but then drove away.” The FBI said there was no body camera footage of the incident from the six Border Patrol agents—but the filing doesn’t clarify if they were wearing body cams. The filing mentioned that investigators have “scoured the area and social media in an effort to find surveillance footage, but to no avail.”

Tangent

The affidavit added that after his arrest, Nino-Moncada was interviewed by FBI Special Agents, and in the interview, he “admitted to intentionally ramming the Border Patrol vehicle in an attempt to flee, and he stated that he knew they were immigration enforcement vehicles.”

What to Watch For

The Oregonian reports that Zambrano-Contreras was shot in the chest and is still in the hospital. It’s not yet clear if she’ll face arrest or charges. The vehicle targeted in the incident belonged to her, and according to the DOJ, she had been arrested before by Border Patrol in El Paso, Texas, but later failed to check in with immigration authorities.