There are two starkly different narratives of what took place during an April 7 immigration operation in the San Joaquin Valley, when ICE agents fired multiple shots at a Salvadoran man, sending him to a hospital.
According to Todd Lyons, acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, federal agents fired defensive shots at Carlos Iván Mendoza Hernández, 36, after he “weaponized his vehicle in an attempt to run an officer over.”
According to Hernández’s attorney, Patrick Kolasinski, and at least one eyewitness, officers fired their guns first, prompting a panicked Hernández to try and drive away.
Now, it will be up to a jury to sort things out.
A federal grand jury indicted Hernández Thursday on two counts of assault on a federal officer with a deadly weapon and one count of destruction of government property stemming from the incident in the rural city of Patterson.
Kolasinski said in a statement Friday that he will not be commenting in detail as the case is ongoing and “it’s time for the judicial process to do its thing.”
“We have faith in the court system and believe that, once all the evidence is put before an impartial jury, Carlos will be exonerated,” Kolasinski said. “To that end, we look forward to having our day in court.”
Four federal immigration officers carried out the April 7 operation to arrest Hernández because he is in the U.S. illegally, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. They conducted a traffic stop near an onramp to the 5 Freeway in the Stanislaus County suburb and instructed Hernández to exit the vehicle, but he refused to comply, prosecutors allege.
He is accused of driving forward and striking an agent with his vehicle before rapidly reversing and slamming into a law enforcement vehicle parked behind him. He then allegedly drove directly at two federal agents, jumped the center roadway median and drove the wrong way against traffic, prosecutors said.
“During this incident, and in response to the vehicle’s movements, agents discharged their firearms at the vehicle and hit Mendoza Hernandez several times,” prosecutors allege in the indictment.
He was taken to a hospital and was treated there for six days before he was medically cleared for release.
KCRA 3, a Sacramento-area television station, obtained video of the encounter that showed federal officers surrounding a black hatchback that was boxed between two unmarked vehicles on Del Puerto Canyon Road.
The video shows the driver reversing with the front passenger door open and striking a pickup truck. At least three agents have their guns drawn. The car then goes forward, apparently in an attempt to make a U-turn, and narrowly misses two officers, who open fire.
Kolasinski told The Times last month that his client is adamant he was fired on before he moved his car.
“He was very clear on this point, that he moved backwards because he was trying to get away because he was shot at,” Kolasinski said.
After the shooting, agents removed Hernández’s clothing and left him handcuffed and sitting naked on the side of the road, according to Kolasinski.
The incident marked the sixth shooting involving federal immigration agents in California since August 2025.
If convicted as charged, Hernández faces up to 20 years on each assault count and up to 10 years on the destruction charge.
“Any sentence, however, would be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the federal sentencing guidelines, which take into account a number of variables,” prosecutors said.
Immediately after the incident, Lyons alleged in a statement on X that agents targeted Hernández because he is an 18th Street Gang member wanted in El Salvador for questioning in connection with a murder.
Kolasinski has disputed this allegation, saying that his client was not a gang member and that, while Hernández had been accused of murder in El Salvador, he was acquitted of any charges pertaining to that case.
The indictment did not reference any alleged gang affiliations or connections to a murder. Hernández is scheduled to be arraigned Monday on the federal charges.
