A California man recovering from seven gunshot wounds sustained during an ICE encounter was transferred directly from intensive care to jail by federal agents, raising questions about the appropriateness of moving someone in a critical medical condition.
From ICU to Custody
Carlos Ivan Mendoza Hernandez was discharged from Doctors Medical Center in Modesto around 1 p.m. Monday and immediately taken into FBI custody. Attorney Patrick Kolasinski told reporters his client couldn’t sit up without assistance just hours before the transfer. Hernandez sustained gunshots to his mouth, left arm, left leg, abdomen, and right side during the April 7 incident along Interstate 5 in Patterson, California. According to Kolasinski, Hernandez saw bones protruding from his arm when officers handcuffed him, and he received no first aid until an ambulance arrived at the scene.
Kolasinski expressed frustration with the timing and circumstances of the transfer. He questioned how someone in the intensive care unit and experiencing severe pain could suddenly be deemed fit for incarceration. The attorney said he expects federal charges of assaulting a federal officer, though no charges had been filed as of Monday night. Hernandez was initially reported taken to Sacramento County Jail but was later found at San Joaquin County Jail, where he was provided medication and a hospital bed.
Conflicting Accounts of the Shooting
The Department of Homeland Security maintains ICE officers opened fire because Hernandez operated his vehicle as a weapon while attempting to evade questioning about a murder in El Salvador. However, dashcam footage from a witness named Christina shows a different sequence of events. The video captures ICE officers with weapons drawn surrounding the vehicle before it reversed and crashed into a truck. Both Hernandez through his attorney and the witness claim officers fired first, before the evasive driving occurred.
Christina’s attorney, Roberto Serrato, said the FBI scheduled an interview with his client for Monday but canceled despite her taking the day off work. He emphasized they are pursuing the matter without financial motivation. Documents show Hernandez was acquitted of murder in El Salvador in 2019, though ICE has not confirmed whether that case relates to their interest in questioning him.
Legal Status and Next Steps
Hernandez does not have legal immigration status in the United States. His attorney stated that despite the circumstances, Hernandez bears no animosity toward those accusing him and remains focused solely on returning to his family. Kolasinski said his client struggles emotionally with uncertainty about whether he will see his loved ones again. A potential hearing was mentioned for Tuesday, though formal charges had not materialized by late Monday evening.
If he’d been in his own country, minding his own business it never would’ve happened.
What a disgusting thing to say! I am quite sure that your ancestors came here from another country. But let me guess, they came here “legally”. Yeah right!
Three of my grandparents were immigrants and they came here legally! The fourth one was the son of two legal immigrants.
Former hospital nurse here. If he was discharged from the hospital, then he wasn’t in critical condition and he wouldn’t have been discharged from ICU.
I am not a medical professional, but even I know NO ONE is discharged directly from the ICU. The claim he was “dragged from the ICU” directly contradicts having been discharged.
Thanks . Shes not reading the same artcle we have read!
Is the attorney an ambulance chaser? Expecting a huge dollar settlement from the government though he knows that his client is guilty? Or just expecting to be seen on TV for his 20 minutes of fame and glory? So tired of these ambulance chasers including Congressional members.
Carlos Ivan Mendoza Hernandez was discharged from Doctors Medical Center in Modesto around 1 p.m. Monday and immediately taken into FBI custody.
If the medical center considered him fit for discharge, he was MEDICALLY cleared for arrest.
Why was he in America??
For the same reason why your ancestors came here
He was in the Country because Biden/ Harris opened the boarder, looking for democratic voters!
Too bad he was shot a few more times. His discharge from the funeral home would be more welcome.
If he was discharged from the hospital, then he should be taken into custody. That’s what you do to criminals. That’s the part you don’t get. If he’s in this country without the proper permissions, he is by definition a criminal. Send him back to his country.
I call BS on this article. Heavy liberal bias and not believable