You really can’t make this crazy stuff up, because here we are and this time it comes with police records!
Kerman Mayor Maria Pacheco is in serious legal trouble after allegedly following a Fresno hairstylist for about 25 minutes because she thought he looked like an immigration enforcement agent. Complaints were filed Monday with the Fresno Police Department and the Fresno County District Attorney’s Public Integrity Unit on behalf of Eric Bridges, a local hairstylist who had the misfortune of simply existing while driving around Fresno.
According to attorney Roger Bonakdar, who filed the complaints, the whole ordeal started near Kearney Park on October 14 and continued as Pacheco allegedly tailed Bridges in her vehicle all the way into Fresno. She then reportedly blocked his car, recorded him on video, and confronted him at a relative’s home. Her reason? She told Bridges directly, “I’m looking for ICE and you look like ICE.” That’s it. That’s the whole investigation. The man looked suspicious to her, so she decided to play federal agent for the afternoon.
Here’s the thing: Eric Bridges has zero connection to ICE or the Department of Homeland Security. He cuts hair for a living. But thanks to Mayor Pacheco’s little vigilante adventure, he’s now receiving threats related to the incident. Bonakdar says video footage backs up his client’s account. You can read Kerman mayor ICE confrontation complaint for the full rundown of what was alleged in the filing.
Bonakdar didn’t exactly mince words in his statement about Pacheco. As an elected official and a representative for a California legislator, Ms. Pacheco isn’t a peace officer and has no business role-playing as one for social media clout or political favor,” he said. “Mr. Bridges has been seriously harmed as a consequence of Maria Pacheco’s careless politicking and he will pursue every avenue available for justice.”
Role-playing as a federal agent for social media clout. In California. Somehow that sentence is not even the most surprising thing to come out of the Golden State this week, but it’s definitely up there.
No criminal charges have been announced yet, and no investigative findings have been made public from either the Fresno Police Department or the DA’s Public Integrity Unit. Both complaints have been submitted and authorities will presumably sort out what a sitting mayor was doing tailing a hairstylist across town for the better part of half an hour.
Bridges says he’ll pursue every available avenue for justice, and his attorney has made clear this isn’t going away quietly. Meanwhile, the residents of Kerman might want to ask their mayor why she was cruising around Fresno on a Tuesday hunting for ICE agents instead of doing mayor stuff. Just a thought.
Maybe that brown paper bag in her car would be better off covering her face, because her personality sure is ugly.
