The father of three Marines who was detained as he worked a landscaping job last month in Santa Ana has been granted bond and could be released soon, according to his family.
Narciso Barranco, 48, could be released from a federal detention center as soon as Friday, but possibly not until after the weekend, after a judge on Thursday set bail at $3,000, Alejandro Barranco told NBCLA.
Alejandro Barranco was with his two brothers at the emotional hearing Thursday in Adelanto. He said he was not sure about details on the terms of his father’s release, but expressed relief at the judge’s decision after attorneys for the government requested what he said was a much higher bail figure.
“He looked nervous, for sure,” Alejandro Barranco said of his father. “He was bouncing his leg up and down. Clearly, he was uncomfortable. He’s never been in a position like that. In the end, he had that relief in his body language. He looked better at the end of it.
“The first thing I think we want to do is have him checked out medically. He said he does have pain. After that, go home, eat some good food. For sure, we’re cooking that carne asada.”
His father wants to return to work as soon as possible, he added.
The landscaper from Tustin was facedown on the ground when he was punched by a federal agent as he was taken into custody June 21 in Santa Ana. Alejandro Barranco, who said the next court proceeding in his father’s case in scheduled for August, was working a landscaping job outside an IHOP when he was approached by federal agents.
Alejandro Barranco met with his father at a Los Angeles detention center in the days after he was taken into custody in the violent arrest caught on video.
“He looked bad. He looked really bad,” Barranco said. “He was wearing the same clothes as when they got him. Still had blood on his shirt. He just looked scared. His eyes are all red. He says they burn.”
In video of the arrest, a federal agent was seen punching Barranco, who has lived in the United States for more than 30 years, when he was pinned to the ground. The Department of Homeland Security shared on social media that Barranco assaulted a federal agent with a weed whacker as he was being taken into custody.
But his family said the longtime landscaper was trying to protect himself from pepper spray and several armed agents.
“When he heard that, he was shocked,” Barranco said. “He never intended to hit anyone. He never intended to hurt anyone.”
Video showed Narciso Barranco running with the garden tool, but did not capture the moments before the confrontation at a busy Santa Ana intersection. The string trimmer can be seen on the ground as Barranco was taken into custody.
Barranco, who said his dad asked him to finish the landscaping job as he was being detained, said that he is not sure how long he will remain in custody. It was not immediately clear whether Narciso Barranco will face charges in connection with the alleged power tool assault.
A Southern California gardener, a father to a U.S. military veteran and two Marines, was pinned down and punched over the weekend. Hetty Chang reports for the NBC4 News at 4 p.m. on Monday, June 23, 2025.
Barranco said the family was filing for the Parole in Place program, which allowed undocumented spouses of U.S. citizens to more easily apply for permanent residency and citizenship.
Barranco said his father always knew he could be taken into custody by federal immigration authorities, but took the risk to provide for his family. Barranco’s two other sons are currently serving in the Marine Corps.
“I’m feeling very optimistic,” Barranco told MSNBC earlier Tuesday. “It doesn’t make me love my country any less. It makes me love it more because I see all these people standing up for people like my dad.”
In a statement last month to NBCLA, the Department of Homeland Security said Barranco was in Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody.
“Border Patrol Agents arrested an illegal alien who tried to evade law enforcement, DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said. “The illegal alien ran, then turned and swung a weed whacker directly at an agent’s face. He then fled through a busy intersection and raised the weed whacker again at the agent. The illegal alien refused to comply every step of the way—resisting commands, fighting handcuffs, and refusing to identify himself. The agents took appropriate action and followed their training to use the minimum amount of force necessary to resolve the situation in a manner that prioritizes the safety of the public and our officers. He is now in ICE custody.”