El Paso police arrest 2nd man accused of harassing migrants near Sacred Heart Church
El Paso police arrested a second man accused of harassing migrants Tuesday afternoon near Sacred Heart Church.
The incident follows last week's arrest of another El Paso man who allegedly pointed a gun at migrants taking refuge at the historic church in the Segundo Barrio.
El Paso police and state troopers have a large presence in the neighborhood, where scores of migrants remain sleeping on sidewalks and inside church buildings.
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Raymundo J. Maese, 52, was in the middle of the street harassing several migrants when he was stopped by police at 3:12 p.m. in the 200 block of East Father Rahm Avenue, a police news release states.
When officers detained Maese on suspicion of being a pedestrian on the roadway, police found that he was wanted on a warrant on a family violence case in November, officials said.
Maese, of Central El Paso, was booked into the El Paso County Jail on the family violence warrant. He was released Wednesday on a $3,000 bond, according to jail records.
The number of undocumented migrants staying at Sacred Heart Catholic Church has been decreasing, though many remain at the Downtown church, hoping to receive political asylum in the United States.
Last week, police arrested Steven Mathew Driscoll, 27, who is accused of pointing a gun at migrants outside the church on New Year's Eve and saying "he was doing it for America," according to a federal criminal complaint.
Driscoll, of East El Paso, remains jailed on a federal charge of being a felon in possession of a firearm for a rifle found in his pickup and state charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, evading arrest in a vehicle and disorderly conduct.
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A half dozen Venezuelan migrants also have been arrested in the neighborhood, mostly on minor drug possession and other charges, police said. In one case, a Venezuelan couple was arrested after police stopped them driving the wrong way in a 2012 Jeep Grand Cherokee that was stolen while it was left warming up.
The church encampment has received international attention with President Joe Biden's visit to the El Paso border on Sunday. The president did not visit the site.
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: El Paso police arrest 2nd man allegedly harassing migrants near church
