A Honduran national living in the country illegally allegedly walked out of the woods, grabbed a Fairfax County police officer’s gun, and tried to take it away from him.
Quick Take
- Fairfax County police charged Nehemia Noel Fuentes-Banegas, 26, with felony attempted disarming of a law enforcement officer.
- The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) says he emerged from the brush and grabbed the officer’s firearm during Tuesday’s confrontation in Annandale, Virginia.
- Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has filed a detainer asking Fairfax County not to release him after any local case ends.
- Court records show an earlier felony case against him, including abduction and assault charges, was dropped by prosecutors before this incident.
What Happened In The Woods Near Annandale
Fairfax County police responded to an incident Tuesday in Annandale that turned into an officer-involved shooting. Investigators say Fuentes-Banegas came out of nearby brush and grabbed an officer’s handgun, then tried to pull it away from him. DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin put it bluntly: “This criminal illegal alien from Honduras attacked a law enforcement officer and attempted to take the officer’s gun.”
Earlier Felony Case Against Annandale Suspect Was Dismissed Before Officer Incident
Court records show an earlier felony case against the Annandale suspect ended after the victim asked prosecutors to drop charges. Michael O'Connell, Kingstowne-Rose Hill Patch, Patch Staff, Posted…— V. M. Nasti Actual (@vincenzo412) July 31, 2026
Police later released body camera still images showing the moments Fuentes-Banegas allegedly had his hands on the officer’s weapon. Officers also recovered two knives at the scene that investigators say were discarded before the struggle began. He now faces a felony charge for attempted disarming of a law enforcement officer, a serious count reserved for direct threats to an officer’s safety.
Why Federal Immigration Officials Got Involved
ICE moved fast once local charges were filed. The agency lodged a detainer against Fuentes-Banegas, a formal request asking Fairfax County not to release him from custody even if his local case resolves or bail is set. That step lets federal agents take custody of him for deportation proceedings instead of letting him walk free locally.
Reporting indicates Fuentes-Banegas entered the United States illegally through Texas in 2022 and was released into the country rather than detained at that time. That release pattern, common during the surge of border crossings in recent years, put him in Virginia long enough to build a criminal record before this week’s alleged attack on an officer.
A Dismissed Case That Came Before This Attack
Court records reviewed by local reporters show Fuentes-Banegas had faced an earlier felony case in Virginia, including charges of abduction, suffocation, and assault. Prosecutors dismissed those charges before this week’s confrontation with police. That dismissal means the case never went to trial, so no conviction was ever entered against him on those counts.
That detail matters because it raises a hard question for Virginia prosecutors and voters alike. An illegal immigrant with a prior violent-crime charge, later dropped, allegedly went on to attack a police officer and try to grab his gun. Conservatives have long argued that catch-and-release policies at the border and soft charging decisions in local courts compound each other, and this case gives that argument real weight.
The Charge He Now Faces And What Comes Next
Attempted disarming of a law enforcement officer is a felony in Virginia specifically because it treats an attack on an officer’s weapon as a threat to that officer’s life. Anyone convicted faces significant prison time under state law. Fuentes-Banegas remains in Fairfax County custody while the criminal case moves forward, with the ICE detainer standing by in case he is released locally.
An arrest and a felony charge are allegations, not a conviction, and Fuentes-Banegas is entitled to his day in court. Still, the sequence of events described by police and DHS is stark: a man in the country illegally, with a prior violent charge that never stuck, is now accused of trying to take a police officer’s gun in the woods outside Annandale.
ICE ASKS COUNTY NOT TO RELEASE SUSPECT: Federal immigration officials are asking Fairfax County not to release Nehemia Noel Fuentes-Banegas, who DHS says entered the U.S. illegally through Texas in 2022 and was later released.
He is accused of attempting to disarm a Virginia… pic.twitter.com/Z9GlX5JKKB
— The Dallas Express News (@DallasExpress) August 1, 2026
Fairfax County police have not said whether Fuentes-Banegas was armed with anything beyond the discarded knives found at the scene. The case is likely to draw continued attention from immigration enforcement officials and local lawmakers debating how Virginia handles detainers and repeat offenders moving forward.
Sources:
thegatewaypundit.com, noticias.foxnews.com, foxnews.com
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