Update: Man shot by ICE in Patterson still in hospital, gets to speak to fiancee
Carlos Ivan Mendoza Hernandez, the man shot by ICE on Tuesday in Patterson, remains at Doctors Medical Center in Modesto under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Attorney’s Office, according to his lawyer. ICE alleges that Hernandez weaponized his SUV while attempting to flee a traffic stop and that he is wanted for murder in El Salvador.
At a news conference Wednesday morning, immigration attorney Patrick Kolasinski said Salvadorian court documents confirm Hernandez was accused of aggravated homicide against a man named Christopher Alexander Melgar Duran but was acquitted in 2019. The Modesto-based attorney is representing Patterson resident Hernandez and his family.
Until around 7 p.m. Wednesday, Kolasinski said neither he nor Hernandez’s fiancee — who joined Kolasinski at the news conference and was identified only as Cindy — had been allowed to talk with the man. Then, Cindy did speak to her fiancee through a phone in the hospital in what his lawyer described as an emotional conversation.
Kolasinski said he expected to meet with his client at the hospital Thursday morning.
Hernandez was taken to Doctors Medical Center in Modesto on Tuesday for treatment, and the only report given on his condition is that he’s “stable.”
Cindy said she wasn’t aware Hernandez was at Doctors Medical Center until around 4:30 p.m. Tuesday and has not been able to see him. She said their daughter couldn’t sleep last night because she was waiting for her father to come home. “She was asking, ‘Daddy,’ for her dad, looking around the room,” Cindy said. “She went to sleep around 1 a.m.”
His fiancee said she was told by staff Wednesday morning that there is no patient by that name being treated in the hospital, but Kolasinski confirmed Hernandez is still at DMC. “We don’t know under what condition he is being held” Kolasinski said. “He may be theoretically in protective custody as a victim of a violent shooting, because that is what he is.”
Hernandez is a dual citizen of El Salvador and Mexico, the attorney said. Cindy is a U.S. citizen, as is their 2-year-old daughter, he said.
The Patterson man was pulled over by Turlock police on Friday for a cracked windshield, Cindy said. The vehicle is registered in her name, so it took a while to find Hernandez in the system, she said. Turlock Police Department confirmed that Hernandez was given a warning after being stopped on Friday April 3 at 6:30 p.m. but there was no additional information provided.
Cindy speculates that TPD provided ICE with Hernandez’s immigration status. The Bee has not been able to confirm that. Cindy said her fiance has been scared about encountering ICE. Details about his legal status have not been provided.
He left home at about 6:15 Tuesday morning and was stopped by ICE minutes later.
Kolasinski said it’s standard procedure by ICE to tail a subject into a less populated area and conduct what to a driver would appear to be a routine traffic stop.
Bee reporter Trevor Morgan provided additional reporting.
This story was originally published April 8, 2026 at 11:45 AM with the headline "Update: Man shot by ICE in Patterson still in hospital, gets to speak to fiancee."
