Border Patrol Agent Accused of Roughing Up 13-year-old Boy

13-year-old Ricky Duran likes skateboarding and he likes the park.

But his mother Patricia Cemato says her son has been having trouble sleeping after what they say happened on Friday at their neighborhood park off Rich Beem in far east El Paso.

Ricky says he and some of his friends were playing a game and throwing a plastic bottle around.

But when that bottle landed a little too close to off-duty Border Patrol Agent Victor Manuel Gutierrez, 39, they say he wasn’t too happy.

“All the kids were scared, my son was so scared,” Cemato told ABC-7.

Ricky says Gutierrez shoved him and kicked him in the leg.

Cemato says Ricky also suffered a pulled muscle in his neck and had to be taken to the emergency room.

The family says an off-duty El Paso Police officer and his wife witnessed the scuffle and called for other officers to arrest Gutierrez.

Gutierrez was charged with intentional injury to a child and released early Saturday morning on a $2,500 bond.

ABC-7 located Gutierrez’s home to get his side of the story. A woman carrying balloons went inside as our crew pulled up, but no one answered the door.

A neighbor did say Gutierrez was a “nice guy” and went on to say he was surprised to hear of the allegation.

Cemato says she’s surprised Gutierrez is allowed to carry a gun for a living.

“He’s a Border Patrol agent,” she said. “He should know better.”

A Border Patrol spokesman said Gutierrez reported for work on Monday but had no further comment.