A federal grand jury has indicted Carlos Ivan Mendoza Hernandez, a 36-year-old man shot by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents during a targeted traffic stop in April. The three-count indictment, returned last Thursday, charges Hernandez with two counts of assault on a federal officer with a deadly weapon and one count of destruction of government property.
Key Takeaways
A federal grand jury indicted Carlos Ivan Mendoza Hernandez for assaulting ICE agents after a shooting incident in April. He faces charges of assault with a deadly weapon and destruction of government property.
- Federal grand jury indicts Carlos Ivan Mendoza Hernandez on three counts
- Charges include two counts of assault on a federal officer with a deadly weapon and one count of destruction of government property
- Incident occurred during a targeted traffic stop in Patterson, California on April 7
- ICE claims Hernandez used his vehicle as a weapon; defense alleges agents fired first
- Hernandez faces up to 20 years for each assault charge and up to 10 years for the destruction charge
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of California, ICE Acting Director Todd Lyons claimed that Hernandez “weaponized” his vehicle against an officer during the stop. The incident occurred on April 7 in Patterson, California, when federal agents attempted to arrest Hernandez due to his undocumented status.
Hernandez’s attorney, Patrick Kolasinski, denied the allegations and stated that federal agents fired first, prompting Hernandez to attempt to drive away. Dash camera video published by local news outlet KCRA showed parts of the incident but did not clearly depict when shots were fired at Hernandez. The footage showed him reversing and then driving across the median.
Hernandez suffered multiple wounds and required three surgeries after the shooting, according to Kolasinski. He is set to be arraigned on Monday and could face numerous years in prison if convicted. ICE has also claimed that Hernandez is a member of the 18th Street Gang and wanted for questioning in connection with a murder in El Salvador, allegations which Hernandez denies.
The FBI took Hernandez into custody in mid-April, and he was denied bail because a judge suggested that he was a flight risk. The allegations against Hernandez are similar to those levied against other individuals who have been subject to federal agents’ violence. In January, DHS accused Renee Nicole Good of weaponizing her vehicle against agents and being a domestic terrorist after she was fatally shot by a federal agent; video later contradicted those statements.
Last fall, teacher’s aide Marimar Martinez was also indicted after a Border Patrol agent shot her multiple times. DHS claimed she rammed her vehicle into the agents’ car, but prosecutors eventually dropped the charges and video of the incident showed Border Patrol ramming Martinez’s vehicle.
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