KERMAN, California — Maria Pacheco, the mayor of Kerman near Fresno, is facing formal complaints alleging she stalked and falsely imprisoned a Fresno man she allegedly mistook for a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent, according to reporting by GV Wire, FOX26 News (KMPH) and the Daily Caller News Foundation published October 20, 2026. The allegations are contained in a complaint by Fresno hairstylist Eric Bridges; Pacheco denies them, and no criminal charges had been announced as of Tuesday.

Bridges alleged in his written complaint, filed Monday with the Fresno Police Department and the Fresno County District Attorney's Office, that on Wednesday, October 14, an orange car followed him closely and photographed his vehicle as he drove to his sister's house in Fresno. He alleged the car blocked him into a parking spot near a park, circled and photographed him, then followed him for about 25 minutes in total to his sister's home. There, he alleged, the driver told him: 'I'm looking for ICE, and you look like ICE,' and, when he asked who she was, replied: 'Don't worry about who I am, I'm someone important.' Bridges wrote: 'I am not, nor have I ever been, an employee of Immigration and Customs Enforcement or the Department of Homeland Security.' Surveillance footage from the home shows an orange Nissan circling the cul-de-sac and pulling up beside Bridges's vehicle, according to the reporting.

Bridges's attorney, Roger Bonakdar, told FOX26 that Pacheco was livestreaming part of the encounter and told viewers Bridges was an ICE agent, and that his client has since received threats, including people telling him he is not welcome at his grandchildren's soccer game. Bonakdar said Bridges is requesting an investigation for potential stalking and false-imprisonment charges and wants 'full accountability.' Those are the attorney's allegations on his client's behalf.

Pacheco dismissed the allegations in a statement to the Fresno Bee. 'If he wants to go to court, then we'll go to court. That's all I can say,' she said, calling Bridges's complaint 'ridiculous,' according to the Bee's reporting as carried by other outlets. Pacheco is mayor of Kerman, a small Central Valley city in Fresno County, and is running for the Fresno County Board of Supervisors, District 1. She has been a vocal critic of ICE operations in the Central Valley; earlier in October she said eight Kerman residents had been detained in two days amid increased ICE activity, according to local reporting at the time.

The complaint lands amid heightened ICE activity across Fresno County and the Central Valley, where the Fresno City Council is this week considering a $1 million immigration legal defense fund and local officials have reported dozens of arrests since early October. Awaaz Punjab is reporting Bridges's claims as allegations and Pacheco's denial in full; the District Attorney's Office has not publicly announced any charging decision.

Sources: GV Wire reporting via Daily Caller News Foundation / WorldNetDaily, October 20, 2026; FOX26 News (KMPH), October 20, 2026; Fresno Bee statement from Mayor Maria Pacheco, as reported October 20, 2026; InterNewsCast / Daily Mail video reporting, October 20, 2026.