OAN Staff Abril Elfi
10:26 AM – Tuesday, November 26, 2024
A Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agent acquitted in a 2020 Washington, D.C., subway shooting has now been arrested on sexual assault charges.
Eduardo Valdivia, who was previously acquitted of attempted murder for shooting a man on a Metro subway train near D.C., was arrested on Monday on sexual assault charges.
A bureau spokesperson said in a statement that Valdivia has been suspended by the FBI pending the conclusion of a police investigation in Montgomery County, Maryland.
“The FBI takes allegations of criminal violations and misconduct very seriously. We are aware of the matter involving the recent arrest of an FBI employee and are fully cooperating with the Montgomery County Police Department. Because this is an ongoing investigation, the FBI cannot comment further,” the FBI said in a statement.
Valdivia was previously charged, but later acquitted in 2022, of attempted second-degree murder and other offenses, including first-degree assault and reckless endangerment, stemming from an off-duty shooting aboard a moving Metro train near Washington, D.C.
Following the incident, Valdivia surrendered to local authorities at a county jail, where a judge released him on personal recognizance without opposition from the prosecution.
A Maryland jury later found Valdivia not guilty of the charges, as he claimed that he had acted in self-defense. The case arose from a verbal confrontation with another man on the Metro train. According to Washington Metro Area Transit Authority police, the injured man was reported to be in stable condition about a week after the shooting.
However, court records now show that Valdivia faces new felony and misdemeanor charges, including two counts of second-degree rape. The alleged offenses are reported to have occurred in May 2024 and September 2024.
Defense attorney Robert Bonsib, who represented Valdivia in the shooting case, confirmed that his client has been arrested.
“We don’t accept at first blush any of the allegations until all of the evidence is in,” Bonsib said.
In a statement, detectives said that they believe there may be additional victims, and they’re planning a news conference on Tuesday “to encourage them to come forward.”
Authorities have not released any other information about the charges.
On December 15th, 2020, a heated exchange between Valdivia and an unarmed passenger on a train near the Medical Center station in Bethesda, Maryland, quickly escalated into a shooting.
According to county prosecutor Robert Hill, Valdivia shot the man from a distance of approximately 2 to 3 feet “after repeatedly warning him to step back.” The victim sustained severe injuries in the incident, requiring surgery that resulted in the removal of “part or all” of his spleen, colon, and pancreas.
Nevertheless, Valdivia’s attorney, Bruce Bonsib, argued that Valdivia had acted in self-defense, claiming that the man was advancing towards him at the rear of the train car.
Valdivia has been ordered to be held in custody after his Monday court appearance, and he is scheduled to appear in court on Tuesday for a bond hearing before a judge.
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