WEST ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) - A man is accused of following ICE agents and threatening them with a gun in West St. Paul.
ICE agents threatened
Suspect arrested:
The West St. Paul Police Department said its officers were dispatched to the 1300 block of Charlton Street on Monday, Dec. 22, after ICE agents reported a man in a Chevy pickup truck "just pulled a gun on homeland security."
A criminal complaint filed in Dakota County Court said responding officers found the suspect, Thomas Edwin Edwards, 63, of West St. Paul, standing on the sidewalk in front of his driveway, yelling at ICE agents.
After being told he was under arrest, Edwards reportedly told police he was "pissed" and that he was "ready to f****** fighting all of ya."
Edwards continued by saying that when he pulled into his driveway, ICE agents pulled a gun on him, which prompted him to take his gun out. He later said he "would have shot" the ICE agent who was pointing a gun at him, according to the complaint.
Police then recovered a loaded .45 semi-automatic handgun in the center console of the truck Edwards was driving.
Court records show Edwards is charged with fifth-degree assault and obstructing legal process with force.
The backstory:
Police then spoke to two ICE agents who said they were conducting surveillance at a Home Depot parking lot when Edwards started following them in a Chevy Silverado.
The agents said they tried to lose the Edwards several times and that Edwards had a gun in his hand at some point. Edwards was also screaming, blowing a whistle and driving erratically while following them.
The complaint states the agents reported fearing Edwards because of how close and aggressively he was following them.
Two other agents, whose vehicle was marked with "POLICE" and "ICE", said Edwards pulled up next to them and made a motion as if he was pulling a gun from his waistband. One of the agents responded by placing his service weapon on their vehicle's dashboard. Edwards then started blowing his whistle and told the agents to "Get the f*** out of here," according to the complaint.
The Source: This story uses information taken from a criminal complaint filed in Dakota County Court.