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On Thursday, the lawyer representing a man shot by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents during an arrest in central California announced that his client is recuperating following three surgeries for several gunshot wounds. The man, identified as Carlos Ivan Mendoza Hernandez, refutes any claims of gang affiliation.
Attorney Patrick Kolasinski revealed that federal prosecutors confirmed Mendoza Hernandez is not in custody, prompting speculation about the motives behind the enforcement operation. ICE’s online detainee database does not list anyone by his name from El Salvador. Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security has yet to comment on Kolasinski’s assertions.
This incident is one of several shootings associated with the Trump administration’s heightened efforts to arrest and deport undocumented immigrants, actions that have faced scrutiny and raised concerns with federal immigration authorities.
According to the Department of Homeland Security, ICE agents discharged their weapons defensively when Mendoza allegedly attempted to drive into them after being stopped on Tuesday. The agents were executing an enforcement operation in Patterson, approximately 75 miles southeast of San Francisco. Mendoza, 36, was labeled a suspected gang member sought in El Salvador for questioning related to a murder.
Kolasinski informed the press that Mendoza is experiencing difficulty speaking due to a jaw injury sustained in the shooting, but insists he has never been involved with a gang. Previously, Kolasinski stated that his client has only faced minor traffic violations, possesses no criminal record in the U.S., and is not wanted under an arrest warrant in El Salvador, where he was previously acquitted of murder.
Kolasinski said that the FBI was leading the investigation of the shooting and that ICE was not currently involved in Mendoza’s case. The Department of Justice referred inquiries to the FBI, which said it couldn’t comment on an active investigation.
Kolasinski said that agents fired on Mendoza while the car was stopped and he drove away to flee the gunfire. “He fled in a panic because he was being fired on,” Kolasinski said. “He was not trying to hurt anyone … he was just scared he was going to die.”
According to a Oct. 25, 2019 court document from a judge in El Salvador, Mendoza, who was 29 at the time, was acquitted after being accused of murder and ordered immediately released. The document lists 10 others who were convicted of various crimes from aggravated robbery to murder, and mentions at least one of them was a member of the 18th Street Gang. But there is no mention of Mendoza belonging to a gang or being accused of carrying out gang activity in the document.
In the California ICE shooting, dashcam footage obtained by KCRA-TV shows three officers standing around a vehicle stopped on the side of a road. One of the officers appears to be touching the driver-side window when 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. 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’s unclear when the shots were fired or if words were said.
Mendoza’s fiancée was able to speak with him Wednesday before a surgery and again Thursday morning, Kolasinski said.
Kolasinski said Mendoza, a dual citizen of El Salvador and Mexico, came to the U.S. in 2019 but he said he did not know his legal status nor how he arrived to the country.
The attorney said his client works as a laborer to repair fire damage. He has a 2-year-old daughter and is engaged to a U.S. citizen, he said.