Trial set for February for woman shot by Border Patrol agent after allegedly ramming his vehicle
A trial date has been set for February for a woman who was shot by an immigration agent earlier this month after she allegedly rammed his SUV in Brighton Park.
Marimar Martinez has been charged with using a vehicle to assault, resist, or impede federal agents. She has pleaded not guilty.
On Monday, the judge in her case scheduled her trial to begin on Feb. 2. Her attorneys have demanded a speedy trial, saying that body camera footage of the incident contradicts the agents' version of events.
The Department of Homeland Security has said Martinez was driving with a group of cars that "boxed in" Border Patrol agents near 39th and Kedzie on Oct. 4.
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, Homeland Security 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, has 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 she was shot five times after reportedly warning neighbors about out-of-town law enforcement in the area.
Also charged in Martinez's case was Anthony Ian Santos Ruiz, who also allegedly rammed the same Border Patrol vehicle with his car. Ruiz also has pleaded not guilty.
Meantime, the judge in Martinez's case has agreed to hold a hearing next month into why the agent involved was allowed to drive his SUV to Maine after the incident, rather than requiring him to have it preserved as evidence.
Parente has said in court filings that he sought to examine all of the vehicles involved in the incident after Martinez's arrest, but only Martinez's and Ruiz's vehicles were in FBI custody, while the Border Patrol agent had driven his vehicle back to Maine.
That vehicle could potentially provide evidence that could clear Martinez, Parente argued, and the fact it was removed from the FBI's evidence garage before the defense team could inspect it is "unacceptable."
"Whether this was sheer negligence or something more is significant considering the importance of the evidence at issue," Parente wrote in a court filing in the case. "While the damage may already be done, as the evidence, if altered, can never be restored to its relevant condition, a hearing is necessary to determine how this occurred and to what extent the vehicle was altered."
A hearing has been scheduled for Nov. 6 to hear from the agent regarding that vehicle, according to court records.