Federal Grand Jury in El Paso Indicts Alleged Law Enforcement Imposter

In El Paso this morning, federal and state authorities arrested 27–year-old Jose Alejandro Vaquera for allegedly impersonating a federal agent, stated U.S. Attorney John F. Bash; FBI Acting Special Agent in Charge David Eisenreich, El Paso Division; U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) Special Agent in Charge Charles Anderson and El Paso County Sheriff Richard Wiles.

A federal grand jury indictment unsealed today charges the El Paso resident with one count of impersonator making arrest or search.  According to the indictment, on July 8, 2018, Vaquera knowingly pretended to be an ICE agent engaged in detaining and arresting a person.

Vaquera is expected to make his initial appearance at 2:00PM tomorrow afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge Miguel Torres in El Paso.  Upon conviction, Vaquera faces up to three years in federal prison and a maximum $250,000 fine.

The FBI, ICE-OPR and the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office conducted this investigation.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Patricia Aguayo is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.

It is important to note that an indictment is merely a charge and should not be considered as evidence of guilt. The defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.