TAMPA, Fla. - An illegal immigrant is being held without bond in Hillsborough County after a trooper says he punched and choked him as he was being detained.

The backstory:

According to Florida’s Attorney General, a trooper pulled over a vehicle on Fletcher Avenue on October 20, 2025, for an improperly displayed tag.

During the traffic stop, the trooper learned that the passenger, Leonardo Gomez Hernandez, 40, of Mexico, had entered the country illegally.

The trooper deployed his taser when Gomez Hernandez tried to run away. As Gomez Hernandez resisted, he reportedly choked and punched the trooper.

Once backup arrived on scene, troopers detained Gomez Hernandez.

He will be charged with resisting an officer with violence and battery on a law enforcement officer, both of which ar

See Full Page