The likely cause of death of a 29-year-old agent with the U.S. Customs and Border Protection who was awaiting trial on resisting arrest charges and who was involved in a high-profile arrest of a 20-year-old American citizen earlier this year has been disclosed.
Last week, his attorney informed a Long Beach Superior Court judge that Isaiah Hodgson died of an overdose at his parents’ home in Riverside County in August, the Long Beach Post reported.
It was the first public disclosure of how he following a series of seemingly chaotic weeks on and off the job.
On June 17, Agent Hodgson took part in an immigration sweep outside a sprawling Pico Rivera retail center housing a Lowe’s Home Improvement store and a Walmart, according to The Post.
Federal agents were arresting a janitor when Adrian Martinez, who worked at the nearby Walmart and was on break, witnessed what was happening.
The 20-year-old told KTLA that he was aware of the ongoing immigration sweeps and decided to step in and speak out. Things quickly escalated from that point.
In footage of the incident, at least a half-dozen federal law enforcement officers are seen in a struggle with the young man. Martinez appeared to be fighting back but was quickly taken to the ground and overpowered by additional agents before he was placed in the back of a U.S. Customs and Border Protection vehicle and taken away.
Amid the fight, someone can be heard screaming, “He’s a U.S. citizen!”
A day after the ordeal, United States Attorney Bill Essayli posted video of the incident to his official government X account and said Martinez was arrested on allegations that he punched “a border patrol agent in the face after he attempted to impede their immigration operation.”
Just hours after that post, U.S. Border Patrol Chief Patrol Agent Gregory K. Bovino reposted Essayli’s accusations, claiming “a false narrative was and is being pushed out on the arrest of a U.S. citizen.”
Martinez claims he was told by agents that he was being arrested for assault, but after being held for three days in a downtown Los Angeles facility, he was released on $5,000 bond and a single charge of conspiracy to impede or injure a federal agent.
As footage of the violent struggle with federal agents went viral, according to the Long Beach Post, many people took note of Hodgson, the only agent without a face mask on.
On July 7, Hodgson, the L.A. County District Attorney’s Office alleged, was drunk at the Yard House restaurant on Long Beach’s waterfront, where a woman saw him in the women’s restroom, his gun and ammunition clip visible.
He quickly put the weapon in his waistband, allegedly brushed the woman aside and called her “sweetie” while asking her on a date, The Post reported.
A security guard called 911 after Hodgson was told to leave the restaurant and was then seen pacing around the parking lot, his gun and holster in hand. Security footage captured the off-duty federal agent stashing his firearm behind a palm tree as officers with the Long Beach Police Department were responding with lights and sirens.
“When they arrived, they reportedly observed Hodgson intoxicated and unwilling to cooperate with their commands as they tried to detain him,” a release from the D.A.’s Office stated. “As Hodgson resisted arrest, he allegedly became agitated and physical with the officers, injuring one of them.”
Officers also recovered Hodgson’s gun behind the tree.
In body-worn camera footage obtained by the Long Beach Post, the 29-year-old appeared to imply that he and his family had been doxed because of his job, saying at one point, “Everyone just f****** hates me here.”
He also reportedly insinuated that he was trying to be extra careful, saying, “People are after me here in Los Angeles,” The Post reported.
After his release, the L.A. County DA’s Office charged him with three felony counts of resisting arrest, one felony count of battery on an officer and three misdemeanor gun charges.
The 29-year-old faced up to seven years in prison if convicted.
The L.A. County Medical Examiner has yet to release an autopsy report that may provide additional details about his death.
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