HOMELAND SECURITY INSISTS MAN IN CUSTODY IN FRESNO RECEIVE PROMPT MEDICAL CARE, A LAWYER, AND A HEARING
FRESNO, Calif. — The Department of Homeland Security moved quickly this week to secure the rights of a man in custody in Fresno, insisting that David Gonzalez III, 32, receive immediate medical treatment, be held at a location known to the public, have access to an attorney, and be brought before a judge, who would read the charges aloud and set bail.
“These are basic protections owed to anyone in custody in the United States,” a Department spokeswoman said. “He will receive every one of them.”
Gonzalez, an agent with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, was taken into custody in the early hours of Oct. 9 after he was found asleep on a family’s front lawn in the Tower District. According to the Fresno County District Attorney, Gonzalez, who appeared intoxicated, assaulted the 72-year-old homeowner who had asked him to leave, throwing the man into a neighbor’s parked car, and attacked the homeowner’s daughter when she intervened. The homeowner fired one shot from a legally owned firearm, striking Gonzalez in the midsection.
What followed, the Department noted, was a model of custodial care.
The daughter telephoned for help. Her boyfriend, an off-duty police officer, arrived, handcuffed Gonzalez, and stayed with him until paramedics came. Paramedics treated him at the scene and took him to a hospital, where his condition — serious — was released to the public. He has remained there since, in custody, receiving treatment. His name was given to reporters. His employer was identified. The charges against him were filed in writing and announced by the District Attorney: felony assault, felony elder abuse, felony vandalism, and misdemeanor battery. Bail was set at $52,000. He is represented by a private attorney. The man who shot him was investigated, and cleared, and at no point was he detained while the authorities sorted it out.
“It is essential that every step be documented and above board,” the spokeswoman said. “His family knows where he is. They have known from the first hour.”
The Department has declined to say why Gonzalez, who joined the agency during its recent hiring surge, was in Fresno, and has opened a personnel inquiry into the incident.
During the same week, federal immigration operations in and around Fresno detained dozens of residents. Their names have not been released.
Asked whether those residents would receive the same protections enumerated for Mr. Gonzalez, the spokeswoman said the Department does not comment on ongoing investigations.
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