CHICAGO — A woman shot by an immigration agent Saturday after she allegedly rammed his vehicle on Chicago’s Southwest Side over the weekend has not received proper medical attention and should be released immediately, her lawyer said in court Monday.
Marimar Martinez, 30, of Chicago, was charged in a criminal complaint filed Sunday with forcibly assaulting, impeding and interfering with a federal law enforcement officer, which carries up to 20 years in prison. Also charged in the same incident was Anthony Ian Santos Ruiz, 21.
According to the charges, the agent who was driving was unable to move his vehicle and exited the car, at which point he fired approximately five shots from his service weapon at Martinez. Martinez was later taken by ambulance to a hospital, where she received treatment for gunshot wounds and was released into federal custody.
At Martinez’s initial appearance Monday, prosecutors moved to have her detained pending trial as a danger to the community.
Her attorney, Christopher Parente, asked for an immediate detention hearing, telling U.S. Magistrate Judge Heather McShain his client has no prior criminal record and should be released to her family.
“She has been shot multiple times by law enforcement,” Parente said. “I don’t believe she’s gotten the medial attention she needs.”
McShain set a detention hearing for 2 p.m. for both Martinez and Ruiz, who also has no prior criminal record.
Martinez and Ruiz both appeared in court dressed in orange jail clothes and shackled at the ankles. The hearing was attended by numerous relatives and supporters of both Martinez and Ruiz. One called out “We love you, Maggie!” as Martinez was led from the courtroom. Another told Ruiz, “Keep your head up. Pray.”
According to the complaint, a U.S. Customs and Border Protection agent was driving south of Pershing Road near the intersection of West 39th Place and South Kedzie Avenue on Saturday with two other CBP agents as passengers.
The officers were acting as a “security detail” and were “followed by a convoy of civilian vehicles,” including a silver Nissan Rogue driven by Martinez and a black GMC Envoy driven by Ruiz, according to the complaint.
The convoy of civilian vehicles followed the agents closely and pursued the (border patrol agents) aggressively,” the complaint stated, including “disobeying traffic laws, including running red lights and stop signs, driving in the wrong lane, and driving the wrong way down one-way streets.”
Martinez drove off after the shooting but paramedics discovered her and her vehicle at a repair shop about a mile away, according to the complaint. Ruiz also drove away after the collisions, but law enforcement located him and his vehicle at a gas station about a half block away, the complaint stated.
All three agents were equipped with body-worn cameras, but the camera of only one of the passengers was switched on at the time of the incident, according to the complaint. Authorities said a gun was recovered. On social media accounts that appeared to be linked to Martinez, who has described herself as a concealed carry license holder.
Both Pritzker and Duckworth accused Trump and aggressive federal immigration enforcement of creating confrontation.
“They are using Gestapo tactics in Chicago, and this is what Trump wants to do, right?” Duckworth said. “He wants to intimidate the people of Chicago. That’s not going to happen.”
But Tricia McLaughlin, a spokesperson for Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, said the “attack” was part of a larger pattern of violence against immigration agents during the Trump administration’s ongoing “Operation Midway Blitz.”
“The violence and dehumanization of these men and women who are simply enforcing the law must stop,” McLaughlin said in a statement.
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