Only on 9: ICE arrests Honduras national accused of violent crimes

CHARLOTTE — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents are ramping up arrests. ICE is now making daily arrests in Charlotte and the surrounding communities.

Channel 9 Government Reporter Joe Bruno embedded with ICE in Charlotte on Thursday to learn more about their operations in our area. On Thursday, Channel 9 was there as ICE arrested Jose Napoleon-Serrano.

In the overnight hours of a nearby parking lot, eight officers met to gear up and be briefed on their assignment. They were told their suspect was Honduras citizen Jose Napoleon-Serrano. According to ICE, he has already been deported twice. In 2020, he was removed from the United States after being arrested in Operation Noble Guardian. That’s when investigators arrested people who crossed the border with a kid in order to be deemed a family unit so they could avoid detention. ICE says the kid would then be sent back after gaining entry into the US.

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Chief of Staff Maria Somers, who oversees enforcement and removal operations in Charlotte, says the child is essentially used as a prop.

“They felt that they would be safe if they brought a child in and so he was one of those people that were targeted for that reason,” she said.

Agents staked out Napoleon-Serrano’s home for an hour-and-a-half waiting for him to come out. Somers says the stakeout could have been avoided.

“We’re putting our lives in danger, obviously the alien’s life and the people in the community,” she said.

Last month, the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department arrested Napoleon-Serrano on charges of assault with a deadly weapon, assault on a female, and domestic violence. ICE issued a detainer requesting him to be held for 48 hours and for the Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office to let them know before he is released. Records show he was held for 48 hours but ICE says MCSO never made that phone call. As Channel 9 has been reporting, Sheriff Garry McFadden thinks the law doesn’t require him to do so.

“It’s frustrating because this could be a very easy transaction at the jail if they were honoring our detainers,” Somers said.

Thursday evening, a spokesperson for Sheriff McFadden reiterated the sheriff’s belief that a notification prior to release is not required.

“MCSO is doing much of the legwork for ICE while complying with an unfunded state mandate for what is ultimately a federal matter,” spokesperson Sarah Mastouri said. “Should Sheriff McFadden now provide ICE with a 2-minute warning, as well? The fact remains: MCSO is following the law—both NCGS 162.62 and now House Bill 10.”

The disagreement on the law’s implementation is one of the reasons why ICE ended up in this Charlotte neighborhood Thursday morning. Somers says they spent about a week getting to know Napoleon-Serrano’s habits. Recent authorization by the Department of Homeland Security allows federal law enforcement agents to assist ICE, including officers from the FBI, the DEA, US Marshals and ATF.

“We’re keeping with the president’s policy and it is the worst first,” she said.

ICE in Charlotte is conducting targeted enforcement, not raids. Somers says despite what has been said, her agents aren’t going into churches, schools, or other sensitive areas. She says the focus is on people who have committed violent crimes.

“Our goal is to remove them, and hopefully get rid of one less threat,” she said. “One less victim out there that gets to sleep at night and feel safe.”

When Napoleon-Serrano left his house Thursday morning, agents in unmarked cars followed and he instantly knew why. He pulled into a park and ditched his car. After a short run through the woods, ICE made the arrest.

Napoleon-Serrano didn’t comment on his arrest. He asked ICE if someone would be able to pick up his car and he confirmed all of his kids are being supervised.

Somers says just like they were watching him, he was having people watch them.

“They were doing counter-surveillance of the house,” she said. “They know our cars. They kind of know how we operate so when he saw something was not normal, he came, he parked his car and dropped it off and ran.”

After being escorted out of the woods, Napoleon-Serrano was cuffed. ICE let him leave his keys and he was allowed to call his wife to let her know he was arrested and that she needed to pick up the car.

The suspect was then taken to the ICE field office in Charlotte for processing. Once inside, officers collected the rest of his belongings including more than $2,000 in cash. He then was placed into a cell.

Somers says she has met with state lawmakers to ask them to make it clear sheriffs have to call ICE before a suspect like Napoleon-Serrano is released.

But she is reiterating the focus right now is on people accused of serious crimes.

“We are going after criminals, so I would say, don’t commit additional crimes, right?” she said.

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