NEW: Illegal Alien Murder Suspect Arrested After Attack On ICE Agents

The FBI on Monday arrested Mendoza Hernandez, a Salvadoran national and murder suspect who was involved in a ramming attack targeting U.S. Immigration and Customs (ICE) agents earlier this month.

Hernandez, 36, entered the United States illegally and has lived in the Central Valley area. According to ICE and the Department of Homeland Security, he is affiliated with the 18th Street Gang and was wanted in El Salvador for questioning in connection with a murder.

His prior criminal history in the United States consists solely of minor traffic infractions, with the most recent noted in 2013. In El Salvador, he faced the murder accusation referenced above but was ordered released after acquittal.

On April 7, four federal law enforcement officers from ICE conducted a targeted vehicle stop near an onramp to Interstate 5 in Patterson, California. The operation aimed to locate and detain Mendoza Hernandez because he is illegally present in the United States.

Officers activated emergency lights, and Mendoza Hernandez pulled over on the right shoulder.

After one agent approached the vehicle, identified Hernandez, and informed him that he was being detained. The agent instructed him to step out of the vehicle, at which point the illegal alien kept the engine running and did not comply despite repeated requests. He then drove forward and struck an agent with his vehicle.

He immediately shifted into reverse and accelerated backward, colliding violently with the front of a law enforcement vehicle parked behind him. After the collision, his vehicle faced two agents assisting in the stop. Following a brief pause, Hernandez accelerated forward toward the agents, according to video footage from the scene.

One agent, positioned directly in the path of the vehicle, jumped out of the way to avoid being struck.

In response to the vehicle’s movements, agents discharged their firearms at the vehicle, striking Mendoza Hernandez multiple times in the jaw, left arm, left leg, abdomen, and right side. He fled the scene by jumping the center median, driving the wrong way against traffic on the freeway, and eventually stopping on the side of the road.

Agents then rendered medical aid at the scene, and he was transported to a local hospital, where he underwent multiple surgeries and remained in intensive care for several days.

“Mendoza Hernandez refused to comply with lawful orders from federal officers, operated his vehicle in a manner that damaged a federal vehicle, and drove his vehicle toward officers in a manner that would have caused serious bodily injury or death had the officers not taken evasive action,” FBI Special Agent Brian Toy said in a criminal complaint.

“I believe that if Agent 1 had not moved, he/she would have been struck by Mendoza Hernandez and would have suffered serious bodily injury or death,” he added.

Mendoza Hernandez was arrested by the FBI and charged with one count of assaulting a federal officer. If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

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