Jonathan Christian Gonzalez-Reyes, 45 years old, was arrested in Miami-Dade for impersonating a high-ranking official of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to intimidate and extort the owner of a Latin food truck in Miami Gardens, according to reported NBC 6 South Florida.
The authorities arrested him on Wednesday during a traffic stop, after the police had conducted surveillance near his home.
The charges he faces include aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, impersonating a law enforcement officer, illegal use of a badge or police insignia, and unlawful use of blue lights, according to county jail records.
The main incident was captured on surveillance cameras on July 8, when Gonzalez-Reyes appeared at the food truck located on Northwest 67 Avenue, carrying a gun and a badge at his hip.
But the scheme had begun weeks earlier, according to the business owner, Luis Rodríguez, in statements reported by Telemundo 51.
The suspect initially arrived at the establishment and began to present himself as an authority figure within the immigration agency.
"He started to give information that he was a high-ranking official of ICE, that he had served in the United States Army, that he was important, that we could be friends," Rodríguez recounted.
In another meeting, Gonzalez-Reyes pretended to have a phone conversation to make the merchant believe that his business was under immigration surveillance.
According to Rodríguez, he heard him say: "Yes, there are three, two Nicaraguans and one Haitian. I'm with the owner, he is a friend of mine." After hanging up, he made a suggestion that the merchant interpreted as a request for payment in exchange for protection.
"He made sure to look me in the eye and say, 'I care about you, I want to help you, but if you help me, I’ll help you,'" Rodríguez recalled, who decided to confront him and ask him not to return.
About a month later, the suspect returned with more serious threats. The cameras recorded part of the encounter with one of the employees.
"He said that if he wanted to, he could plant drugs on me and get me in trouble, that he could shoot me," described the business owner. At one point, Gonzalez-Reyes directly aimed the weapon at the victim. As he left, he activated the police sirens on his vehicle.
Rodríguez, a U.S. citizen, reported the case precisely because his status allowed him to do so without fear. His concern now focuses on those who did not have that same opportunity.
"It frustrates me to think and know that this modus operandi could be applied in other places, with business owners who are undocumented or in the asylum process," he warned. Miami-Dade authorities urged potential victims to contact the county’s Crime Stoppers hotline.
After his arrest, the suspect initially denied knowing the victim or having visited the business, but later admitted to having displayed the weapon and claimed that he did not have any bad intentions. He was transferred to the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center.
The case fits into a documented pattern in South Florida, where criminals impersonate ICE agents to rob and intimidate immigrant communities.
In April of this year, a fake immigration agency was dismantled in Florida, accused of withholding documents to extort undocumented applicants.
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