Peru returnee denies role in New Jersey ICE officer attack

Friedrich Castillo-Ormeno says he was already back in Peru when relatives started calling to tell him his name had been linked to an attack on an ICE officer in New Jersey. The confusion now sits at the center of a high-stakes federal case that has raised questions about how quickly immigration agencies identify suspects, how those names are entered into the public record, and what checks exist when an arrest target is later described as a fugitive.

Castillo-Ormeno arrived in the United States in the summer of 2022 and, while his asylum case moved through immigration court, he continued checking in with ICE. An immigration judge issued him a final order of removal on Jan. 30, 2026. He said he left the country on March 2 with his girlfriend and child, arrived in Peru on March 3, and later received a CBP Home voluntary-departure incentive payment in late April. NBC News reported that he and his girlfriend each received $2,600 through the program.

ICE said officers carried out a targeted vehicle stop on June 15 in Manahawkin, New Jersey, to arrest Castillo-Ormeno. Local police placed the incident at about 9:30 a.m. on Route 72 near Mermaid Drive in Stafford Township. Federal officials said the driver “weaponized his vehicle and struck an officer,” and the officer was taken to a hospital for treatment after injuries to his legs. The FBI has taken over the investigation.

From Pisco, Peru, Castillo-Ormeno said the accusation made him “goose bumps,” and he expressed fear that the allegation could follow him now or later and leave him treated like a criminal. His account underscores the importance of a clean paper trail in immigration enforcement, especially when an arrest target has already departed the country and family members are left to learn of a serious accusation through rumors and calls.

By the end of the week, federal prosecutors had charged a different man, Eduardo Cruz Garcia, 39, of Barnegat Township, with assaulting and injuring a federal officer by hitting the officer with his van. Garcia was ordered detained after his initial appearance in federal court in Trenton on June 17. A separate federal release said the officer was engaged in official duties when the white van fled, and prosecutors said the defendant fled forward while the officer stood beside the van.

The case now hinges on more than an assault charge. It also tests how ICE, the Justice Department and local police match a suspect to a name, how that information reaches the public, and what safeguards keep a removal case from becoming a lesson in identity confusion.