Carlos Ivan Mendoza Hernandez, a 36-year-old with dual citizenship in El Salvador and Mexico, entered the plea during a hearing in federal court in Sacramento, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said. A federal grand jury indicted him last week on two counts of assaulting a federal officer with a deadly weapon and one count of damaging government property, stemming from the April 7 encounter in Patterson, a city about 75 miles southeast of San Francisco.
Mendoza’s attorney, Patrick Kolasinski, said his client panicked and tried to flee when ICE agents in unmarked vehicles surrounded his car, and that he did not intend to hit anyone. Kolasinski also challenged the agency’s characterization of Mendoza as a suspected gang member wanted in El Salvador for questioning in a homicide, noting that Salvadoran court documents show Mendoza was acquitted of murder and has no criminal record in the United States.
Department of Homeland Security officials said ICE officers were conducting a targeted enforcement stop and fired “defensive shots” after Mendoza attempted to drive into them. Mendoza was struck multiple times, including a wound to his jaw, and has undergone several surgeries. He remains in government custody, his lawyer said, and is expected to require additional medical treatment.
The shooting took place during a period of intensified federal immigration enforcement under President Donald Trump, which has produced a series of high-profile shootings by federal officers. In at least some of those cases, video evidence released after the incidents contradicted initial official accounts, prompting inquiries from members of Congress and civil liberties groups about the use of force and the accuracy of DHS statements.
Kolasinski said his client acted out of fear, not malice, and that the government’s description of Mendoza’s background is misleading. He added that Mendoza came to the United States in 2019 and has been law-abiding.
Mendoza’s request for a jury trial sets in motion a prosecution that will force a federal judge to consider the admissibility of the shooting’s circumstances, including whether ICE agents’ actions were justified. A status conference was scheduled for July 27. If convicted, he faces up to 20 years on each assault charge, prosecutors said.