Raymond Cruz, the veteran character actor best known for playing Tuco Salamanca on Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul, was arrested in Los Angeles on Monday on suspicion of misdemeanor battery after an altercation in which he allegedly sprayed a woman with water from a garden hose, law-enforcement sources told media outlets.
The incident occurred early Monday in the Silver Lake neighborhood, according to reports citing police sources published by TMZ and the Daily Mail. Officials said a reporting party told authorities the actor had blasted their daughter with water in front of Cruz’s home after Cruz, who was washing his vehicle, asked a woman who had parked behind him to move and then sprayed her when she did not. Cruz, 60, was taken into custody and was processed at a Los Angeles Police Department station the same day, sources said. The Daily Mail reported it had reached out to the LAPD for comment.
No criminal charges had been filed as of Monday afternoon, according to the reports. The Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office would typically handle potential prosecution of a misdemeanor battery case, and prosecutors may pursue alternative resolutions for minor infractions, including deferred prosecution or office hearings that can result in warnings or conditions such as anger‑management classes, the outlets reported, citing unnamed insiders.
Cruz has worked in film and television since the late 1980s and has amassed a wide array of credits. He appeared on series including Knots Landing, Cagney & Lacey, Beauty and the Beast, The X‑Files, The Practice, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Walker, Texas Ranger, Murder, She Wrote and NYPD Blue. In film, he has roles in Clear and Present Danger, Under Siege, Out for Justice, The Rock, Alien: Resurrection, Dead Again and Broken Arrow.
His breakthrough came with a memorable turn as the volatile character Sniper in the Oscar‑winning 2001 film Training Day. On television, Cruz has been a recurring presence in crime dramas, most prominently as Detective Julio Sanchez on TNT’s Major Crimes, a role he played after originating the character on The Closer; combined, those appearances ran for more than a decade and totaled 105 episodes from 2005 through 2018 on those series.
Cruz’s portrayal of Tuco Salamanca — the menacing drug enforcer — on Breaking Bad and on the Better Call Saul universe is among his most widely recognized roles. He has continued to work steadily in film and television in recent years.
The reports did not provide details about any injuries or whether the alleged reporting party planned to seek prosecution. Authorities and the Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office had not released public statements detailing the case as of Monday evening. The actor’s representatives did not immediately respond to requests for comment reported by the outlets.