BOCA RATON, FL (BocaNewsNow.com) — The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) agent who stands charged with shooting at a car following a road rage incident near Boca Raton’s Town Center Mall may have used his US Marshall friends to “beat the system.”
Angel Echevarria, an agent with the “Federal Protective Service” and assigned to the US Marshall’s service knew that a warrant was issued by Boca Raton for his arrest. But instead of turning himself into the Boca Raton police, he instead turned himself into his co-workers at the US Marshall’s service.
They, in turn, booked him into the Palm Beach County Jail.
As policy: when a federal agency books a prisoner into the jail, it’s traditionally for a brief hold until they are moved to a federal facility. There is no “local” record because a federal agent would almost always be booking a prisoner as part of a federal case.
But in this case, it has been suggested by law enforcement officials that Eschevarria — or his colleagues — used this method to keep the arrest private. Even though Boca Raton Police issued the warrant for his arrest, Echevarria was booked into jail by his federal colleagues — tricking the computer system into thinking it was a federal arrest and blocking it from view. Even local law enforcement officials could not verify that Echevarria had been locked up.
A Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson tells BocaNewsNow.com that the agency is aware of the “issue” and is working to make the booking record public.
Under Florida law, Echevarria’s mugshot and home address will not be released, however all other details of the arrest should be a part of the jail booking record.
Read our original reporting on Esehvarria’s arrest here.
