Attorney of man shot in ICE-involved shooting says 18th Street gang allegations are false
Mountains outside Patterson, California. (David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
(PATTERSON, Calif.) — The attorney of a man who was shot in an Immigration and Customs Enforcement-involved shooting in Patterson, California, is claiming ICE attempted to arrest his client based on wrong information.
The shooting occurred on Tuesday near the I-5, when ICE Director Todd Lyons said federal officers were attempting to arrest a man they claimed was an 18th Street gang member when he “weaponized his vehicle” and attempted to run over an officer.
Lyons claimed that the suspect, later identified as Carlos Ivan Mendoza Hernandez, is wanted in El Salvador for questioning in connection with a murder.
Attorney Patrick Kolasinski said during a press conference Wednesday that he has obtained a document from the government of El Salvador that he claims proves Mendoza Hernandez was once arrested and accused of murder but was acquitted.
Kolasinski shared with reporters what appears to be a judicial document from El Salvador that says Mendoza Hernandez was acquitted of homicide in 2019.
ABC News has reached out to DHS for comment about Kolasinski’s claims. ABC News has not independently verified the authenticity of the document.
Kolasinski said Mendoza Hernandez’s family in El Salvador says he was never in a gang. The attorney also said his client has no criminal record in the United States except for a traffic ticket.
Following the shooting, Mendoza Hernandez was taken to a local hospital, according to DHS.
Kolasinski said law enforcement officials and hospital staff have not allowed him and Mendoza Hernandez’s fiancée to speak with him since the shooting.
A hospital social worker could only share that he’s in stable condition, but would not answer any other questions, they claimed during the press conference.
People protest against Immigration and Customs Enforcement as they march toward the South Texas Family Residential Center on January 28, 2026 in Dilley, Texas. (Joel Angel Juarez/Getty Images)
(MINNEAPOLIS) — Five-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos and his father, asylum seekers who were arrested last week in Minnesota, were ordered to be released by a federal judge in Texas on Saturday.
U.S. District Judge Fred Biery ordered Conejo Ramos and his father released from the immigration detention center at Dilley “as soon as practicable” but no later than Feb. 3.
“Any possible or anticipated removal or transfer of Petitioners under this present detention is prohibited,” the judge wrote in his order.
Prince William County police seal the street in front of the home of suspected Jan. 6, 2021, pipe bomber on Dec. 4, 2025, in Woodbridge, Virginia. (Andrew Leyden/Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — A federal magistrate judge did not immediately rule Tuesday on whether the Virginia man charged with placing pipe bombs outside of the Republican National Committee and Democratic National Committee headquarters the night before the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol will remain behind bars pending trial, after saying both prosecutors and the defendant’s attorneys raised important legal issues that he will have to take under further consideration.
During the hearing, Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles Jones urged Judge Matthew Sharbaugh to reject arguments from suspect Brian Cole Jr.’s attorneys that he would pose no danger if released and remained under house arrest — noting such a setting was similar to where he had carried out his alleged planning to plant the pipe bombs in the first place.
Cole was arrested by federal authorities earlier this month following a massive probe that had stymied investigators for almost five years. He appeared in court on Dec. 5, where a judge detailed the two charges he currently faces. The charges carry a maximum sentence of up to 30 years if he is convicted.
Cole’s attorneys had urged the judge to release him pending trial, arguing the government has presented no evidence that shows he poses a danger to the general public.
Cole, who has not entered a plea, allegedly told investigators in a lengthy confession that he wasn’t targeting the joint session of Congress that was convening to certify former President Joe Biden’s election win, according to previous court filing from the Department of Justice.
On Tuesday, Jones said that on the morning of his arrest, Cole allegedly wiped the memory from his phone for the 943rd time since December 2020, just days before he allegedly planted the devices.
“This is not a case that involves an isolated, impulsive act,” Jones said. “This is a case in which the government’s request for detention is based off of a pattern of concerning and disturbing conduct, including planned acts of extreme political violence, experimentation with explosive materials, destruction of evidence, persistent inclination and proclivity for hiding incriminating information from those around him, including his family.”
After Cole saw himself on the news in videos released by the FBI seeking tips on his identity, he said in the interview that he discarded all of his bomb-making materials at a nearby dump and said he never told anyone about his actions in the nearly five years since Jan. 6, according to the filing.
Cole’s attorney Mario Williams argued the tally of instances where he deleted his phone messages was being taken out of context and suggested it was more attributable to his diagnosis of being on the autism spectrum and having obsessive compulsive disorder.
Judge Sharbaugh said he did find it “concerning” the evidence put forward by the government that allegedly showed Cole continued to purchase bomb-making components even after he allegedly placed the bombs outside the RNC and DNC.
Sharbaugh also questioned whether the government had made any determination about what the impact or “blast radius” of the pipe bombs would have been had they detonated. Jones responded that it wasn’t entirely clear given the number of variables at play with pipe bombs, but that for anyone in near proximity it could be “life threatening.”
Throughout the arguments, Williams seemed to provide a partial roadmap for how they plan to present Cole’s defense should the case move forward to trial. Williams accused the government of overstating its evidence of Cole’s apparent radicalization leading up to Jan. 6, saying it had put forward no evidence similar to what prosecutors were able to gather in their investigations of the Capitol riot defendants who often had texts or social media activity that included fringe or even violent political rhetoric.
At the conclusion of the hearing, Sharbaugh did not provide a specific timeline on when he would expect to rule on Cole’s detention, but said he would seek to do so “expeditiously.”
(COMAL COUNTY, Texas) — A 15-year-old boy allegedly shot a teacher at his Texas high school before dying from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, authorities said.
The teen used a .357 revolver he brought from home in Monday morning’s shooting at Hill Country College Preparatory High School in Comal County, about 30 miles north of San Antonio, the Comal County Sheriff’s Office said.
A injured teacher, a female, was taken to a San Antonio hospital in an unknown condition, the sheriff’s office said. She remains in the hospital on Tuesday, authorities said.
“The situation was contained very, very quickly,” and there’s no ongoing threat, the sheriff’s department said. The school was placed on lockdown and the approximately 250 students were evacuated to be reunited with their parents, authorities said.
While the motive remains under investigation, it appears the suspect “may have been experiencing academic challenges, including failing several classes,” the sheriff’s office said.
Electronic devices were taken from the teen’s home to try “to learn more about the student’s actions and possible motive,” the sheriff’s office said.
Hill Country College Preparatory High School is closed on Tuesday and counselors will be available to students, Principal Julie Wiley said.
“Our hearts are with everyone impacted, especially that teacher, their family, and our school community,” Wiley said in a statement. “We know this has been a difficult day. I want to personally thank our local law enforcement officers, amazing staff, and district administrators for their swift response, professionalism and care of our students.”
