California man shot 7 times by ICE arrested by FBI, attorney says
Witness speaks out about ICE shooting in California
A witness named Christina said she saw ICE officers shooting at a man in Patterson, Calif.
MODESTO, Calif. - A 36-year-old man in California who was shot by ICE officers seven times was arrested Monday by the FBI immediately after being discharged from the hospital and who was in no condition to be brought to jail, his attorney told reporters on Monday.
FBI custody
In an impromptu Zoom interview, attorney Patrick Kolasinki told reporters that his client, Carlos Ivan Mendoza Hernandez, was discharged from Doctors Medical Center in Modesto about 1 p.m., and the FBI had already put him into a "paddywagon" and took him to Sacramento County Jail.
Kolasinki said Hernandez "was in no condition" to be released – as he was still in the ICU as of Monday and couldn't even sit up without assistance – and he expected his client to be charged with assaulting a federal officer.
"This is wrong in so many ways," Kolasinki said. "He was in excruciating pain. He was extremely fragile. He woke up in ICU and all of a sudden he's well enough to go to a filthy jail? Give me a break."
ICE is not involved at this point, Kolasinski said.
Shot seven times
What we know:
Dashcam shows ICE shooting, car reversing
Dashcam footage, provided by a driver named Christina, shows ICE officers surrounding the vehicle with their weapons drawn. The vehicle reverses and crashes its side door into a truck. An officer then holds his pistol at the window of the vehicle as it zips forward into a median and moves onto the opposite side of the divided highway. Via Storyful
Just an hour or so before the FBI arrested Hernandez, Kolansinki answered reporters' questions in an informal setting, saying his client was shot in the mouth, left arm, left leg, abdomen and somewhere on his right side.
Kolasinski told reporters that Hernandez recalled that he saw his bones sticking out of his arm when ICE handcuffed him, and he wasn't given any First Aid until an ambulance arrived on April 7, the morning he was shot along I-5 in Patterson, Calif.
During the middle of the reporters' questioning, Kolasinski got a call from Hernandez's fiancé, Cindy, who told him that Hernandez was being discharged from the hospital.
New witness saw ICE shooting in California, provides dashcam video
A new witness officially came forward on Friday with dashcam footage that may provide a critical look into the recent shooting involving U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Patterson, Calif., and raises questions about early-morning gunfire in the middle of civilian traffic.
What Homeland Security and ICE are saying
The other side:
The Department of Homeland Security said ICE officers shot Hernandez because they wanted to question him with regard to a murder in El Salvador and that he "weaponized" his vehicle in trying to get away from officers.
Through his attorney, Hernandez, and a witness named Christina, have both said that ICE officers shot first, before dashcam video documented Hernandez reversing his car and making a hard U-turn to leave the scene.
Christina's lawyer, Roberto Serrato, told KTVU that the FBI had scheduled an interview with his client on Monday, but then canceled despite her taking the day off work. He is representing Christina pro bono and emphasized neither he nor Christina are doing this for money.
Hernandez does not have legal status in the United States, and was acquitted of murder in El Salvador in 2019, according to documents.
What we don't know:
It's not completely clear that ICE's desire to question him and that murder are related, as ICE has declined to answer that question specifically.
IF YOU'RE INTERESTED: Kolasinki has set up a GoFundMe for Hernandez's family