Family, lawyer of man shot by ICE say he isn't a gang member

The family and the lawyer of Carlos Ivan Mendoza Hernandez, the 36-year-old man shot by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers on April 7 in Northern California, believe he was wrongfully targeted by the federal government based on "bad information."

Mendoza Hernandez, an undocumented immigrant, was stopped by federal immigration officers "for questioning in connection to a murder" at about 6:30 a.m. on April 7 in Patterson, California, according to information released by multiple law enforcement agencies.

Todd Lyons, acting ICE director, said in a statement on April 7 that as officers approached the vehicle, Mendoza Hernandez allegedly "weaponized his vehicle in an attempt to run an officer over."

"Following their training, our officers fired defensive shots to protect themselves, their fellow agents, and the public," Lyons said.

Patrick Kolasinski, the family's lawyer, disputed the idea that Mendoza Hernandez was trying to hurt the officers. As officers approached the vehicle, Kolasinski claimed that Mendoza Hernandez attempted to flee the area, driving toward the officers, resulting in two of the agents drawing their firearms and shooting at Mendoza Hernandez.

During a press conference on April 8, Kolasinski said he thinks ICE may have mistakenly targeted Mendoza Hernandez.

Kolasinski noted that Mendoza Hernandez was arrested in El Salvador in connection with a murder case, based on court documents obtained by the lawyer. He didn't mention what charges Mendoza Hernandez was originally arrested for, but noted that he was later acquitted of those charges.

Lyons claimed in a statement released shortly after the shooting on April 7 that Mendoza Hernandez was a "wanted gang member" of the 18th Street Gang. But Kolasinski refutes that claim, noting that he had spoken with Mendoza Hernandez's family in El Salvador, who stated, "He was never in a gang."

Kolasinski noted that there were no warrants out for Mendoza Hernandez's arrest at the time of the shooting, and he had lived in Patterson since 2019.

Kolasinski did not want to speculate on why ICE may have targeted Mendoza Hernandez, but based on the information available to him and Mendoza Hernandez's family, it appeared to be a "horrible mistake."

"The arrest may have been connected to (the gang), but he was not in it, which is why we think he was the only person acquitted," Kolasinski said during the press conference. "We think this was a horrible mistake made on bad information, but it makes no sense for ICE to have found him."

USA TODAY reached out to ICE regarding Kolasinski's claim, but had not received a response at the time of publication.

Mendoza Hernandez's fiancé, Cindy, who asked that the media not use her last name to protect her family's safety, shared that she believed her fiancé may have been placed on the federal government's radar after the pair was stopped by police in Turlock, California, the week before for a crack in her vehicle's windshield. The officers allowed the two to leave after it was determined that neither had an active warrant.

"If they do have something against Carlos, at that moment, they do have the right to detain him, so why didn't they do that?" she said during the press conference. "I believe the incident is coming from there, and I don't know if he was targeted for that one."

Where is Carlos Ivan Mendoza Hernandez?

It's unclear where Mendoza Hernandez is currently located.

When asked about Mendoza Hernandez's condition, Kolasinski and Cindy said hospital staff at Doctors Medical Center in Modesto and federal law enforcement have left them in the dark about his whereabouts.

When Kolasinski went to the hospital on the evening of April 7, he said that he was not allowed to speak with Mendoza Hernandez or the hospital administration to learn about his client's health.

"I was given the outside contractor security company's supervisor, and they said 'I can't tell you anything' and walked away," Kolasinski said. "We just don't know what is happening."

Cindy shared that she briefly spoke with a social worker on April 7 after being interviewed by an FBI agent at the hospital. She said the social worker confirmed that Mendoza Hernandez was being treated at the hospital and that his condition had stabilized, but was unauthorized to provide any additional information about her fiancé.

The worker told Cindy that she would contact her at 8 a.m. on April 8, but at the time of the press conference, Cindy and Kolasinski said they had not received a phone call from the hospital.

Before the press conference, Cindy drove to the hospital and asked the staff if she could visit Mendoza Hernandez, but was informed that he was no longer in the hospital's system.

'In this case, it is my family'

Cindy has watched immigration enforcement ramp up throughout the country, and also what has happened in the aftermath of federal immigration agents fatally shooting two American citizens during protests in Minnesota in January.

She prayed that it would never happen to her family, but yesterday shattered that illusion, she shared during the press conference.

"I understand they want to look for people. I understand they want to make this country better as they mentioned, but in reality, they are impacting families," Cindy said. "In this case, it is my family."

She noted that Mendoza Hernandez is a "good dad" who would drive in the early hours of the morning to make it to his job in the Bay Area, restoring burned and damaged homes, and still make it home in time to put his daughter to bed.

Over the last 24 hours, a moment that resonated with Cindy was watching her 2-year-old daughter wait by the door for her father to return home, she shared in a press conference.

"It was hard for her to go to sleep," Cindy said. "She was asking (for her) daddy, looking around the room, and she went to sleep around 1 a.m."

After spending hours searching for her fiancé, Cindy knew she needed to speak out publicly about his shooting in hopes of finding answers.

"There's no one contacting me," Cindy said. "I'm actually worried because there are a lot of people that are against (us) and supporting us. But I have read the comments on social media. It's painful. People wishing for him to die."

"How did we get to this point as humans? Why are we wishing for someone's death?" Cindy added.

Noe Padilla is a Northern California Reporter for USA Today. Contact him at [email protected], follow him on X @1NoePadilla or on Bluesky @noepadilla.bsky.social. Sign up for the TODAY Californian newsletter or follow us on Facebook at TODAY Californian.