LOS ANGELES – Three California men pleaded guilty today to federal criminal charges for throwing rocks, fireworks, and ignited debris at California Highway Patrol (CHP) officers trapped underneath a downtown Los Angeles freeway overpass – with a CHP vehicle set ablaze – during anti-immigration law enforcement rioting last year.
Federal prosecutors have secured a total of six guilty pleas stemming from violence that occurred at the Main Street overpass on the 101 Freeway in downtown Los Angeles during the evening of June 8, 2025, when rioters targeted law enforcement officers during a protest against enforcement of U.S. immigration laws.
Guilty pleas were taken today from the following defendants:
- Ismael Vega, 41, of Westlake, who pleaded guilty to one felony count of obstructing, impeding, and interfering with law enforcement during a civil disorder;
- Balton Montion, 25, of Watsonville but who was a Los Angeles County resident during last year’s attack, who also pleaded guilty to one felony count of obstructing, impeding, and interfering with law enforcement during a civil disorder; and
- Junior Roldan, 27, of Hollywood, who pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor count of simple assault on a person assisting a federal officer,
On Monday, the following three defendants pleaded guilty to federal criminal
charges stemming from the same incident:
- Adam Charles Palermo, 40, of Rampart Village, who pleaded guilty to one felony count of assaulting, resisting, and impeding persons assisting federal
officers and employees with a deadly or dangerous weapon;
- Yachua Mauricio Flores, 23, of Lincoln Heights, who pleaded guilty to one felony count of obstructing, impeding, and interfering with law enforcement during a civil disorder; and
- Ronald Alexis Coreas, 23, of Westlake, who pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor count of simple assault on a person assisting a federal officer.
According to court documents, the defendants were present at a civil disorder,
a public disturbance involving acts of violence by an assemblage of more than three individuals that caused immediate danger and resulted in damage to property or person of another individual.
Palermo, Vega, and Flores were part of a group of protestors who knowingly picked up debris – including cardboard and vegetation – and fireworks, lighting them on fire and dropping them over the railing of the freeway overpass aiming for a nearby CHP vehicle – which was within feet of CHP officers trapped under the overpass – and later caught fire. Flores poured a liquid increasing the size of the flames. Montion, Coreas, and Roldan threw rocks at law enforcement officers who attempted to clear the freeway overpass.
United States District Judge John F. Walter scheduled sentencing hearings in the coming months for these defendants. Palermo faces a statutory maximum of 20 years in federal prison. Vega, Montion, and Flores will each face a statutory maximum sentence of five years in federal prison. Roldan and Coreas will face a statutory maximum sentence of one year in federal prison.
Palermo has been in federal custody since August 2025. The other defendants remain free on bond.
Another defendant, Jesus Gonzalez Hernandez, Jr., 22, of Las Vegas, is scheduled to plead guilty on May 4 to one misdemeanor count of simple assault on a person assisting a federal officer.
The FBI, with assistance from the California Highway Patrol and the Los Angeles Police Department, investigated this matter.
Assistant United States Attorneys Jenna W. Long of the National Security Division and Sebastian Bellm of the General Crimes Section are prosecuting this case.
