Federal prosecutors abruptly moved on Thursday to dismiss charges against a woman who was shot multiple times by Border Patrol agents during an incident in Chicago, bringing an end to a case that has become a political hot-button, reported the Chicago Tribune.
The motion to dismiss United States v. Marimar Martinezstunned legal expert Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, who took to X to post about it.
"WOW. Federal prosecutors just dismissed charges against the Chicago woman shot by a Border Patrol agent five times," wrote Reichlin-Melnick, a frequent critic of the Trump administration's immigration policies. "They accused her initially of pulling a gun on them (which video apparently showed was false) then said she rammed the agents’s car. Now they’re dropping charges."
"The motion to dismiss assault charges against Marimar Martinez and her co-defendant, Anthony Ruiz, must still be approved by the judge, though such motions are routinely granted," noted the Tribune. "The U.S. attorneys office made the surprise move just hours before a hearing before U.S. District Judge Georgia Alexakis where defense attorneys were expected to describe new texts from the Border Patrol agent who shot Martinez and discuss witnesses for an upcoming hearing over what the agent did with his vehicle after the Oct. 4 incident."
"Prosecutors have said Martinez was part of a convoy of civilians who were following agents when she rammed Border Patrol Agent Charles Exum’s vehicle near 39th Street and Kedzie Avenue, prompting Exum to jump out of his Chevrolet Tahoe and fire five shots, wounding Martinez seven times," said the report.
On the other hand, Martinez's attorneys allege Exum was the one who sideswiped Martinez, and that he tried to tamper with evidence, "saying Exum was inexplicably allowed to drive the Tahoe more than 1,000 miles back to his home base in Maine, where a Border Patrol mechanic attempted to 'wipe off' some of the scuff marks from the crash."
According to the report, the texts from Exum include saying, “Read it ... I fired 5 shots and she had 7 holes. Put that in your book boys.” Confronted on this in court, Exum said, "I'm a firearms instructor. And I take pride in my shooting skills."