Attorney says man shot by ICE in Stanislaus County is not gang member

STANISLAUS COUNTY, Calif. -- An lawyer for a antheral changeable by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents during an apprehension successful Central California said Wednesday that his lawsuit did not effort to tally implicit officers with his car and disputed claims that helium has a warrant retired for his apprehension successful El Salvador.

EDITOR'S NOTE: The video supra is from a erstwhile broadcast and volition beryllium updated.

The Department of Homeland Security said ICE agents fired antiaircraft shots astatine Carlos Ivan Mendoza Hernandez aft helium tried to thrust into them connected Tuesday. DHS said they were conducting an enforcement halt targeting Mendoza, 36, successful Patterson.

Officials described him arsenic a suspected pack subordinate wanted successful El Salvador for questioning successful transportation to a murder.

Attorney Patrick Kolasinski, who is representing Mendoza and his family, said during a quality league that his lawsuit has been stopped for insignificant postulation infractions but has nary transgression grounds successful the U.S. and is not the taxable of an apprehension warrant successful El Salvador, wherever helium was acquitted of murder.

Kolasinski said helium has recovered nary grounds his lawsuit was portion of immoderate thoroughfare pack but helium added helium has not had the accidental to speech to him to corroborate that.

"If helium was released aft being acquitted, with nary different holds connected him, helium cannot person a warrant," Kolasinski said. "So that accusation indispensable beryllium either erroneous oregon wholly made up. And lone DHS knows what they're looking at."

According to a Oct. 25, 2019 tribunal papers from a justice successful El Salvador, Mendoza, who was 29 astatine the time, was acquitted aft being accused of execution and ordered instantly released. The papers lists 10 others who were convicted of assorted crimes from aggravated robbery to murder, and mentions astatine slightest 1 of them was a subordinate of the 18th Street Gang. But determination is nary notation of Mendoza belonging to a pack oregon being accused of carrying retired pack enactment successful the document.

Tuesday's brushwood was among a drawstring of shootings that person happened during the Trump administration's assertive propulsion to detain and deport amerciable immigrants successful which questions person been raised astir the accounts by national migration officials.

DHS did not instantly respond to requests for comments astir the lawyer's statements.

"He's a bully guy. He's a hardworking person," said Mendoza's fiancée, Cindy, who did not supply her past sanction retired of fearfulness for her information due to the fact that of attraction of his case. She said the Trump administration's migration crackdown is hurting families.

She said successful Spanish that Mendoza was precocious stopped for a cracked windshield successful different town.

Dashcam footage obtained by KCRA-TV shows 3 officers lasting astir a conveyance stopped connected the broadside of a road. One of the officers appears to beryllium touching the driver-side model erstwhile the car begins to backmost up and turn, hitting a conveyance down it. At slightest 2 of the agents person weapons drawn, pointing astatine the car. The operator past pulls guardant toward wherever the men are lasting and turns sharply, driving implicit the roadway median.

The video has nary dependable and it's unclear erstwhile the shots were fired and if words were said.

"He is doing everything helium tin to not tally them over," the lawyer said of his client's absorption during the arrest. He said helium believes his lawsuit panicked and tried to flee. DHS said ICE agents were acting arsenic trained.

Mendoza's household and his lawyer person not been allowed to spot him since helium was hospitalized, and his information was chartless Wednesday, Kolanski said. They were told by a societal idiosyncratic that helium is stable.

Kolasinski said Mendoza, a dual national of El Salvador and Mexico, came to the U.S. successful 2019 but helium said helium did not cognize his ineligible presumption nor however helium arrived to the state and hoped to speech to him to get those details. He said national officials haven't said if Mendoza has been arrested for a transgression oregon if he's being held by authorities arsenic a unfortunate of a shooting.

Kolasinski said his lawsuit works arsenic a laborer to repair occurrence damage. He has a 2-year-old girl and is engaged to a U.S. citizen, helium said.

Kolasinski said officers endangered everyone by opening the car doorway erstwhile Mendoza tried to flee. "That whitethorn good beryllium ICE training, but if it is it's horrible training," helium said.

The Stanislaus County Sheriff's Office said they were not progressive successful the incidental and the FBI is starring the investigation.