A man shot multiple times during an April 7 arrest by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers in central California has been charged in federal court with assaulting a federal officer, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of California.
Prosecutors alleged that Carlos Ivan Mendoza Hernandez drove forward after being pulled over, struck a federal agent with his car, and then reversed back into a law-enforcement vehicle. The allegations are tied to the enforcement stop in Patterson, a city about 75 miles (120 kilometers) southeast of San Francisco, according to the charging materials summarized by the Associated Press.
The case moved back into court in Sacramento on Tuesday, with U.S. Magistrate Judge Allison Claire presiding. During the hearing, the judge raised questions about releasing Mendoza Hernandez on bond, and said, “This isn’t someone who is seeking out law enforcement to target.” She ordered him released on a $50,000 bond, finding that he likely did not pose a threat to the public or a flight risk, and allowed 48 hours for a higher court judge to affirm or overturn the ruling.
Mendoza Hernandez appeared in a wheelchair at the hearing, a day after he was released from intensive care following multiple surgeries for gunshot wounds. A translator told him what was being said during the hearing, and he nodded as the judge read the conditions of release.
Outside the courthouse after the hearing, about eight protesters chanted “Justice for Carlos” and held signs in support of Mendoza Hernandez, with cars honking as they passed.
Prosecutors’ version of the enforcement stop was disputed by the defense. The Department of Homeland Security said ICE agents fired defensive shots after Mendoza Hernandez tried to drive into them during what officials described as an enforcement stop targeting him. DHS said the stop was tied to him being a suspected gang member wanted for questioning in El Salvador related to a killing, though the Associated Press reported that those allegations were not mentioned in the hearing or in the complaint.
David Harshaw, a public defender for Mendoza Hernandez, told the court that he does not have a criminal record and should be allowed to go home immediately. Harshaw said Mendoza Hernandez does not pose a danger to the public, particularly given his injuries. U.S. attorney Jason Hitt argued that Mendoza Hernandez might try to flee if released, saying he did not obey officers’ orders during the April 7 arrest.
Patrick Kolasinski, another attorney for Mendoza Hernandez, said his client panicked and tried to flee after ICE agents blocked his car. Kolasinski said, “We are prepared to fight them,” referring to the allegations. Kolasinski also disputed DHS claims that a warrant existed for Mendoza Hernandez’s arrest, saying Mendoza Hernandez is engaged to a U.S. citizen and is a laborer and father of a 2-year-old girl, and that he has no criminal record in the United States. He also said Mendoza Hernandez was not subject to an arrest warrant in El Salvador, where Kolasinski said he was acquitted of murder.
KCRA-TV dashcam video, obtained by the station, shows three officers standing around a vehicle stopped on the side of a road. The footage shows the car backing up and turning, hitting a vehicle behind it, while at least two agents have weapons drawn. When the driver pulls forward toward the standing officers and turns sharply, the car drives over a roadway median. The Associated Press reported that the video has no sound and it is unclear when shots were fired or whether any officer said anything.
In court documents, prosecutors said four agents pulled Mendoza Hernandez over and he refused instructions to get out of the vehicle. An agent broke a passenger window to get him out as Mendoza Hernandez put the car in drive and moved forward, hitting an agent, according to the complaint described by the Associated Press. Prosecutors said he then reversed, smashed into an ICE vehicle, and accelerated as an agent jumped out of the way.
Kolasinski, meanwhile, said the shooting occurred while the car was stopped and that Mendoza Hernandez drove away to flee gunfire. The Associated Press reported that neither DHS nor ICE responded to its requests for comment on the lawyers’ assertions.
The hearing and charge are part of a broader pattern of shootings during the Trump administration’s push to detain and deport people in the country illegally, the Associated Press reported, prompting questions about how federal immigration enforcement is carried out.