A federal grand jury has indicted a man who last month was shot several times by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Northern California during a targeted stop.
The man, Carlos Ivan Mendoza Hernandez, a Salvadoran who had been working in the state, is accused of ramming his vehicle into two agents on April 7 in Patterson, Calif., an agricultural community 90 miles southeast of San Francisco.
Agents fired several shots into Mr. Hernandez’s vehicle during the episode. He was struck several times and then spent weeks in the hospital before being released into federal custody.
Mr. Hernandez, 36, faces two counts of assaulting a federal officer with a deadly weapon and one count of damaging government property. Mr. Hernandez has disputed that he tried to hit the agents.
Four agents had tried to arrest Mr. Hernandez after pulling his vehicle to the side of the road. Prosecutors say agents shot at Mr. Hernandez after he “drove forward and hit an agent with his vehicle,” reversed and hit a government vehicle, and then accelerated toward the agents.
Dashcam footage of the episode taken from a passing car captured part of the episode.
The video, posted by the Sacramento news station KCRA, contains no audio and begins as the interaction is already unfolding. It shows three agents surrounding Mr. Hernandez’s black Toyota hatchback.
At least two agents appear to have their guns drawn. One appears to be leaning over the windshield with his gun aimed at Mr. Hernandez’s vehicle. The agent appears to fire his weapon as the Toyota reverses.
As it continues moving back, the open passenger-side door smashes against a truck parked behind it. The agents move out of the car’s way as it peels out, firing additional shots. The Toyota then drives over a median into oncoming traffic before the video ends.
Patrick Kolasinski, a lawyer for Mr. Hernandez, has said that his client was not trying to hurt anyone with his vehicle, and that he was merely trying to get away.
ICE has said that Mr. Hernandez was being sought for questioning in El Salvador in connection to a murder and that he was a member of the 18th Street Gang.
Mr. Kolasinski has said his client is not a member of the gang, and added that Mr. Hernandez had been acquitted in the murder case in El Salvador before he illegally immigrated to the United States in 2019.
Mr. Hernandez is set to appear in court on Monday. He is being represented by a public defender in the criminal case.
“We have faith in the court system and believe that, once all the evidence is put before an impartial jury, Carlos will be exonerated,” Mr. Kolasinski said in a statement on Saturday. “To that end, we look forward to having our day in court.”
The case is the latest in which federal immigration agents have discharged their firearms as they carry out President Trump’s deportation campaign.
In multiple episodes, including the shooting deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis, the government’s account of what happened has been called into question by video evidence.
In one shooting, federal authorities dropped charges against another man an agent had shot in Minneapolis after video emerged that contradicted the agents’ testimony.
Orlando Mayorquín is a Times reporter covering California. He is based in Los Angeles.
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