UPDATE: Carlos Ivan Mendoza Hernandez, the Patterson man shot by ICE agents last week, appeared in federal court in Sacramento Tuesday. He faces a single charge of assaulting a federal officer with a deadly weapon. He remains in federal custody where is awaiting another hearing on his potential release on $50,0000 bond after prosecutors asked for a 48-hour stay on the judge’s initial ruling.
The Patterson man who was shot by ICE agents during a traffic stop last week was arrested and released from the hospital into FBI custody Monday afternoon, less than a day after undergoing another surgery for his injuries.
Carlos Ivan Mendoza Hernandez, 36, was shot more than half a dozen times by federal immigration agents April 7 in Patterson during a traffic stop off Interstate 5. His Modesto attorney Patrick Kolasinski said Hernandez was transferred to Stanislaus County jail Monday, after some initial confusion about where he was being detained.
No formal complaint has been received yet, but Kolasinski said he is awaiting charges from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of California.
Kolasinski raised serious concerns about Hernandez’s arrest, questioning the decision by Doctors Medical Center staff in Modesto to release him to FBI custody.
“All of a sudden, the hospital magically decided that he was good enough to go and they handed him over to the FBI without notifying his family,” Kolasinski said. “This is wrong in so many ways, and we will be tackling it at every level.”
He said Hernandez’s fiancée, Cindy, saw him Sunday after his surgery, one in a series of operations he has had since the shooting. The couple, who have been together for four years, have a 2-year-old daughter together. Kolasinski said his client was still in considerable pain, unable to walk and only able to sit up briefly.
Doctors Medical Center spokeswoman Patti Tanner released a statement on Hernandez’s discharge. It read:
“Doctors Medical Center and our physicians make discharge determinations taking into account the unique circumstances of each patient, carefully considering the need for continued inpatient care. Discharge plans are tailored to provide for the safety and continued health journey of the patients. As always, our priority is providing compassionate, quality care for our those who entrust us with their care.”
A call to the Sacramento FBI field office has not been returned.
“That (the shooting) was less than a week ago, and to have him all of a sudden cleared enough for release is just beggars belief,” Kolasinski said. “When he was barely hanging on, he woke up in the ICU this morning, and all of a sudden he’s good enough to go into a filthy jail? Give me a break.”
Kolasinkski said he assumes that Hernandez will be charged with assaulting a federal officer with a vehicle or attempting to kill a federal officer with a vehicle. These charges, if filed, could lead up to 10 years in federal prison.
Federal officials have alleged Hernandez “weaponized his vehicle in an attempt to run an officer over,” and officers “fired defensive shots to protect themselves.”
On Saturday, April 11, an eyewitness, who is only using her first name Christina for personal safety concerns, held a press conference with her Atwater attorney Roberto Serrato about what she saw at the scene of the shooting in Patterson on her way to work. She also provided dashcam footage of the incident.
Christina says she observed federal agents striking the window of Hernandez’s vehicle, then heard a single gunshot before the car moved. That was followed by several more shots fired in quick succession.
She also reported seeing agents point firearms toward active civilian traffic in her direction. That prompted her to reverse her vehicle for safety. Hernandez also attempted to reverse and drive away, before coming to rest in oncoming traffic.
“This occurred in a heavily-trafficked area during morning commute hours,” Serrato said in the press conference on Saturday. “Any situation involving gunfire in close proximity to civilians raises serious public safety concerns that deserve careful and objective review.”
Kolasinski said in addition to handling the criminal case against Hernandez, he alluded he might file a lawsuit in civil court against the hospital.
On the day of the shooting, acting ICE Director Todd Lyons said in a statement posted on X that agents were looking for an alleged gang member who was wanted for questioning for a murder in El Salvador.
But Hernandez’s family released a document from the Salvadoran government saying he was acquitted of those charges in 2019, and refuting he had ever been in a gang.
Kolasinski said while an FBI official initially told him Hernandez was being booked into Sacramento County Jail, a subsequent call with the county sheriff’s office has raised concerns on where he is being detained. He said the sheriff’s office said Hernandez is not and will not be housed in county facilities, contradicting information from federal officers.
His detention location wasn’t confirmed until close to 9 p.m. Monday, when his attorney confirmed he was being held at the Stanislaus County jail on Hackett Road.
Ximena Loeza is the bilingual communities reporter for The Modesto Focus, a project of the nonprofit Central Valley Journalism Collaborative. Contact her at ximena@themodestofocus.org.