Mexican man gets 3 years for pouring lighter fluid onto CHP vehicle during L.A. protests
A Mexican man who was living illegally in the United States has been sentenced to 3 years in federal prison for pouring lighter fluid onto a burning California Highway Patrol (CHP) vehicle and helping throw an electric scooter from a freeway overpass near officers during an anti-ICE protest in Los Angeles.
Yachua Mauricio Flores, 23, was sentenced Monday to 37 months in prison. He was also ordered to pay $253,415 in restitution, according to the U.S. Prosecutors Office for the Central District of California.
Federal prosecutors described Flores as a Mexican national living illegally in the Lincoln Heights area of Los Angeles.
Flores pleaded guilty on April 27 to obstructing, impeding and interfering with law enforcement officers during a civil disorder.
The incident happened on the evening of June 8, 2025, during unrest on the Main Street overpass above U.S. Highway 101 in downtown Los Angeles. Officers were below the overpass as people threw rocks, concrete, scooters, street signs, fireworks and burning debris toward them.
According to his plea agreement, Flores poured lighter fluid from a plastic water bottle onto a burning California Highway Patrol (CHP) vehicle, causing the flames to intensify. He then directed another person who lit a liquid substance and poured it onto the same vehicle while it was burning.
Flores immediately poured lighter fluid from a second bottle onto the vehicle. Minutes later, he and another person threw an electric scooter over the railing near CHP vehicles and officers below.
Flores admitted that he knew officers were beneath the overpass and that throwing objects and burning debris created a substantial risk of death or serious injury.
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Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
