A federal grand jury has indicted a 36-year-old man who was shot multiple times by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers during a targeted traffic stop in April.
The three-count indictment against Carlos Ivan Mendoza Hernandez was returned last Thursday after ICE Acting Director Todd Lyons claimed that he had “weaponized” his vehicle against an officer during the stop.
Mendoza Hernandez denied this allegation, which DHS has also made against other people who’ve been the subject of federal agents’ violence in the past. Video released in multiple prior cases has gone on to contradict the agency’s claims.
The indictment of Mendoza Hernandez includes two counts of assault on a federal officer with a deadly weapon and one count of destruction of government property, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of California announced in a press release. Mendoza Hernandez is set to be arraigned on Monday and could face numerous years in prison if he’s convicted.
“We have faith in the court system and believe that, once all the evidence is put before an impartial jury, Carlos will be exonerated,” Patrick Kolasinski, an attorney for Mendoza Hernandez, said in a statement to The New York Times. “To that end, we look forward to having our day in court.”
