Jacob Michael Fagundo, Interfering with a Law Enforcement Officer, Illinois 2020

CHICAGO — Jacob Michael Fagundo, 23, pleaded guilty in federal court today to interfering with a law enforcement officer during a period of civil unrest in downtown Chicago last May.

Fagundo, a Chicago resident, admitted that on the evening of May 30, 2020, he and other individuals approached an unoccupied Chicago Police vehicle in a garage at 30 E. Kinzie St. in the city’s River North neighborhood.

After Fagundo and the other individuals shattered the vehicle’s rear windshield, Fagundo lit a firework and threw it through the open window, the plea agreement states. The vehicle became engulfed in flames and the Chicago Fire Department was called to extinguish the blaze.

In addition to setting fire to the vehicle, Fagundo spray-painted another Chicago Police vehicle earlier in the day, the plea agreement states.

Fagundo admitted that he bought the fireworks, lighter fluid, and other products a day earlier at a department store in Chicago so that he could bring them to the planned protests downtown.

The charge of interfering with a law enforcement officer during the commission of a civil disorder is punishable by up to five years in federal prison. U.S. District Judge Robert W. Gettleman set sentencing for July 14, 2021, at 10:00 a.m.

The guilty plea was announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Kristen deTineo, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Division of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; and David Brown, Superintendent of the Chicago Police Department.

The Chicago Fire Department provided valuable assistance. The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney John D. Cooke.

Defendant Name: Jacob Michael Fagundo

Criminal Charge: Interfering with a law enforcement officer during the commission of a civil disorder

City and State: Chicago, Illinois

Exact Date: May 30, 2020

Sentence: Up to five years in federal prison

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