A Border Patrol agent has been indicted on aggravated assault charges after court documents alleged he "accelerated" his vehicle into a suspect who was walking calmly and posed no threat to law enforcement.

Border Patrol agent Raymundo Ramos Jr., 41, was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, MyRGV reported. A Cameron County grand jury returned the indictment on June 10.

Ramos was serving as a Drug Enforcement Administration task force officer on January 31, 2025, when the incident took place during a joint immigration enforcement operation in Harlingen, Texas. A joint investigation by the Department of Homeland Security and Justice Department Offices of Inspector General confirmed the circumstances of the incident. The involvement of both inspectors general — the internal watchdogs for DHS and DOJ — reflects the gravity with which federal oversight bodies treated the allegations, as OIG investigations typically address serious misconduct claims rather than routine incidents.

The target of the operation was Alejandro Martinez-Castaneda, a Mexican national whom officers were attempting to arrest for an immigration violation, according to MyRGV.

Ramos told a Harlingen police investigator that Martinez-Castaneda was fleeing, prompting him to drive toward the suspect to effect the arrest. Ramos claimed he applied his brakes and the vehicle slid into Martinez-Castaneda, MyRGV reported.

However, surveillance footage from a home on East Fillmore Avenue showed Martinez-Castaneda walking — not running — at the moment Ramos's vehicle struck him, according to KRGV. Investigators reported hearing no sound of braking on the video and found no skid marks at the scene, MyRGV reported.

A homeowner who witnessed the incident said Ramos drove "super quick" and struck Martinez-Castaneda with no lights, sirens, verbal commands, or other officers present. The witness stated that Ramos "accelerated in his direction, drove directly toward him and hit him with his vehicle," and never observed emergency lights activated, according to MyRGV.

Martinez-Castaneda told investigators he never attempted to run. He reported spending four days in the hospital and subsequently undergoing surgery on his back, neck, and leg.

A federal special agent who reviewed the case concluded that Ramos's use of force "was not within the scope of a Law Enforcement Official's authorized use of force," MyRGV reported. The reviewing agent noted that Martinez-Castaneda was "walking calmly in a non-threatening manner" and posed no danger to the public.

Ramos declined a voluntary interview with investigators in March 2026.

His attorney, Nat C. Perez, is seeking to move the case from state court to federal court, which would place the proceedings before a federal judge rather than a state one. Perez argued that because Ramos was conducting a federal immigration operation, he holds a federal defense against the state charges, MyRGV reported. The removal bid invokes a long-standing legal framework that allows federal employees facing state charges for on-duty conduct to seek transfer to federal court, a pathway the Supreme Court has addressed in cases involving federal officers' liability for actions taken under federal authority.

Court documents indicate that federal agencies reviewed the incident internally and permitted Ramos to continue working for approximately one year before the state prosecution commenced.

Ramos is scheduled for arraignment on August 3 in the 445th state District Court in Cameron County. No federal charges have been filed, according to court records.