Chicago woman shot by Border Patrol agents after allegedly ramming vehicle pleads not guilty to assault charge
A woman accused of ramming a car into federal agents before she was shot in the Brighton Park neighborhood in Chicago earlier this month has pleaded not guilty.
Marimar Martinez, 30, has been charged with assault of a federal employee. At her arraignment on Wednesday, she pleaded not guilty.
According to the Department of Homeland Security, on Oct. 4, Martinez was in a car that blocked Border Patrol agents near 39th and Kedzie.
The agents were rammed by vehicles and "boxed in by 10 cars," according to a statement from the Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin.
DHS said the agents were unable to move their vehicles and got out of their car and fired five shots at Martinez, who was still in the car. In their original account of the incident, DHS said one of the drivers in the incident had a semi-automatic weapon, but the charges against Martinez do not accuse her of brandishing a gun.
Martinez's attorney, Christopher Parente, said she is a U.S. citizen with a valid Firearm Owner's Identification Card and a concealed carry license, and her gun was in her purse the entire time.
Prosecutors said Martinez drove off after she was shot, but paramedics found her and her car at a repair shop about a mile away, at which point she was taken to a hospital.
Martinez's lawyers said the U.S. citizen was shot five times after reportedly warning neighbors about out-of-town law enforcement in the area. They said body camera footage contradicts the agents' version of events.
Her attorneys said there was a rushed indictment in the case, and demanded a speedy trial.
If convicted, she faces a maximum of 20 years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000.
Anthony Ian Santos Ruiz, 21, who was in another car in the same incident, also has been charged with assault of a federal employee. He was due to be arraigned Wednesday afternoon. He was arrested outside his business a short time after the incident in Brighton Park.