Avondale Man Faces Federal Charges for Vandalizing ICE Property in Arizona (DOJ)

PHOENIX, Ariz. - A man was taken into custody May 7, 2026, after being indicted for setting fire to a property owned by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Surprise, Arizona, in February.

A federal grand jury handed down an indictment charging Gabriel Mendoza-Acoltzi, 19, of Avondale, Arizona, with Malicious Damage to Federal Property and Willful Depredation Against Property of the United States. According to court documents, Mendoza-Acoltzi broke a window and attempted to light the building on fire just after 1 a.m. on Feb. 21, 2026.

Last week, U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael T. Morrissey granted the United States' request that Mendoza-Acoltzi be detained pending further court proceedings.

According to court documents, a video camera in the area of the ICE property captured Mendoza-Acoltzi's Honda Civic entering the parking lot around 12 am on Feb. 21. Mendoza-Acoltzi can be seen exiting the vehicle and placing a propane tank next to the ICE building. Later video shows Mendoza-Acoltzi swinging the propane tank at a window on the building, breaking the glass, and using a long torch connected to the tank to light the window shades inside the lobby on fire.

Video from the scene also shows Mendoza-Acoltizi moving between the sidewalk and the rock landscaping at the ICE property. When responding to the incident, investigators observed a profane anti-ICE message spelled out with landscaping rocks on the sidewalk.

A conviction for Malicious Damage to Federal Property carries a penalty of five to 20 years in the Bureau of Prisons, up to a $250,000 fine, and one to three years of supervised release.

The FBI, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, and the City of Surprise Police and Fire Departments conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ryan McCarthy and Stephen Marlowe of the District of Arizona, Phoenix, is prosecuting the case.

An indictment is a formal accusation of criminal conduct. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

CASE NUMBER: 26-CR-455

RELEASE NUMBER: 2026-079_Mendoza-Acoltizi

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For more information on the U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Arizona, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/az/

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