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Carlos Ivan Mendoza Hernandez, the man shot by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents during an enforcement stop in central California last week, was arrested Monday by the Federal Bureau of Investigation after he was discharged from a hospital, his attorney said.
Attorney Patrick Kolasinski said federal officials have not told him what charges Mendoza Hernandez might face. Messages were sent to the FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s Office seeking more information about the arrest.
Kolasinski said Mendoza Hernandez underwent three surgeries for multiple gunshot wounds and was discharged into FBI custody without any notification to his family or legal team. “We’re in shock,” he told The Associated Press. “He should not be out of that hospital. He was in no condition to be released.”
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security previously said ICE agents fired defensive shots at Mendoza Hernandez when he tried to drive into them after he was pulled over last Tuesday. DHS officials said the enforcement stop targeted Mendoza Hernandez, 36, in Patterson, about 75 miles (120 kilometers) southeast of San Francisco, and described him as a suspected gang member wanted in El Salvador for questioning in connection with a murder.
Kolasinski disputed the characterization of his client, saying Mendoza Hernandez insisted he was never a member of a gang. He said Mendoza Hernandez had been stopped for minor traffic infractions, had no criminal record in the United States, and was not the subject of an arrest warrant in El Salvador, where he said Mendoza Hernandez was acquitted of murder.
Kolasinski told reporters last week that Mendoza Hernandez was having difficulty speaking because he was shot in the jaw, and he said he insisted he was not in a gang. Kolasinski also said agents fired at Mendoza Hernandez while the car was stopped and he drove away to flee the gunfire.
Federal authorities have not said why Mendoza Hernandez was targeted for an enforcement action, according to AP reporting, and DHS had not responded to inquiries about Kolasinski’s statements. The episode was described by AP as part of a string of shootings during the Trump administration’s push to detain and deport people in the country illegally, raising questions with immigration officials.
In support of the defense account, Kolasinski pointed to an Oct. 25, 2019, court document from a judge in El Salvador that AP said lists Mendoza Hernandez’s acquittal and immediate release. AP reported that the document mentions 10 other people convicted of various crimes, including at least one 18th Street Gang member, but contains no mention of Mendoza Hernandez belonging to a gang or being accused of engaging in gang activity.
AP also reported that dashcam footage obtained by KCRA-TV shows three officers standing around a vehicle stopped on the side of a road. In the video, one officer appears to be touching the driver’s side window as the car begins to back up and turn, hitting a vehicle behind it. At least two of the agents have weapons drawn, pointing at the car, and the driver then pulls forward toward where the men are standing and turns sharply, driving over the roadway median; the video has no sound and it is unclear when the shots were fired or whether words were exchanged.
Kolasinski said Mendoza Hernandez’s fiancée visited him in the hospital over the weekend and he was still in significant pain. The attorney said Mendoza Hernandez is a dual citizen of El Salvador and Mexico, came to the United States in 2019, and worked as a laborer to repair fire damage. Kolasinski said Mendoza Hernandez has a 2-year-old daughter and is engaged to a U.S. citizen.