Federal DHS Agent Arrested After Daytime Shooting at Boca Raton Mall

Federal agent arrested after daytime shooting at Boca Raton mall

September 26, 2013

Sun Sentinel - A Pompano Beach man whose car was allegedly shot at by an off-duty federal agent said Thursday it's a "miracle" that nobody in the car — including his 2-year-old son — was hit by the bullet.

Alla Juma, 27, said he thinks Boca Raton police did the right thing by initiating the arrest of Angel Echevarria, a Department of Homeland Security special agent assigned to the U.S. Marshals Service.

"I don't really have a reaction, I just know that justice has been served," Juma said of the arrest. "You can't just take out your gun and start shooting at people."

Juma said he was driving with his brother, 18, and toddler son on Glades Road at about 1:30 p.m. Sept. 7, heading to the Town Center at Boca Raton mall to pick up his wife when he found himself in a dispute with another driver.

The driver, later determined to be Echevarria, unlawfully fired his service weapon at Juma's Toyota, according to police.

"If you're a federal agent you should act better than that; you shouldn't act like a Rambo," Juma said.

Echevarria, a special agent with Homeland Security's Federal Protective Service, surrendered at the Palm Beach County Jail late Wednesday, said Boca Raton Police Officer Sandra Boonenberg. Police on Monday had filed a probable cause affidavit seeking Echevarria's arrest.

He faces three counts of aggravated assault with a firearm and one count of shooting into an occupied vehicle, according to court records.

Echevarria's attorney, Bruce Lehr, said he couldn't say much about the allegations, but said his client has the right to self-defense whether he's on duty or not.

"As a law enforcement officer, he does not lose his right to defend himself and his family," Lehr said.

Lehr said it wasn't clear what Echevarria's job status is now that his client is facing charges.

Calls to the Department of Homeland Security were referred to the department's Office of the Inspector General, whose mandate is to provide independent oversight of the department.

"As a matter of policy, we do not discuss ongoing investigations," said an email from the office's public affairs branch.

According to a Boca Raton police probable cause affidavit, Echevarria honked his horn at Juma's car after Juma cut him off near the Town Center mall.

In response, Juma shot up his middle finger. Officers wrote in the affidavit what happened next:

Echevarria, driving with his wife and five children, tried to follow Juma's red Toyota but crashed into the back of another car. Echevarria signaled to the other car to follow him into the mall parking lot. In the mall parking lot near the Nordstrom store, Echevarria saw Juma's car and parked his black Honda Pilot nose-to-nose with it.

The special agent, dressed in civilian clothes, got out of his car, pointed a .40-caliber Sig Sauer handgun at Juma's car, and announced he was a police officer.

Echevarria said Juma sped away, bumping Echevarria and Echevarria's wife as he drove off, according to the affidavit. The agent fired one round at the Toyota, police said, with the bullet lodging in the rear driver's side wheel well.

The special agent's wife was treated at a local hospital. Her injuries included an abrasion to a finger, a red mark on her knee, and a small mark on her ankle. Echevarria didn't show any obvious signs of injury, according to the affidavit.

Juma told police he drove away from the confrontation because he feared for his safety and the safety of everybody in his car, according to the affidavit.

The officer wrote that although Juma cut off Echevarria, that was a traffic infraction, and a time lapse occurred between the initial incident and the confrontation in the parking lot. He wrote that Echevarria was a "civilian and had no lawful or legal authority to discharge his firearm at an occupied vehicle."