Crime & Law
‘They Picked the Wrong Victim’: New Evidence Contradicts Border Patrol Agent’s Claims in Shooting of Chicago Woman, Attorneys Say
As Marimar Martinez sat in a hospital bed last October, hours after she was shot five times in Brighton Park, friends and colleagues of the Border Patrol agent who fired his gun at her showered him with praise.
“You are a legend among agents you better f---in know that,” one text sent to Agent Charles Exum read. “Beers on me when I see you at training.”
That text was among a trove of evidence released by Martinez and her attorney Wednesday as they plan to file a civil suit against Exum and Department of Homeland Security officials, who labeled the 30-year-old Montessori school teacher as a “domestic terrorist” before prosecutors abruptly dismissed their case against her.
The new evidence includes texts to and from Exum following the shooting, surveillance photos and body camera footage from agents who were at the scene of the Oct. 4 shooting. Much of it contradicts the narrative spread by DHS, which alleged that Martinez “ambushed” Border Patrol agents and rammed them with her vehicle, Parente said.
“I think (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) was hoping they would get some radical individual so they could support some of their false claims, but they picked the wrong victim to mess with,” Martinez’s attorney Christopher Parente said at a news conference Wednesday.
Martinez and her attorneys say they plan to file a federal claim Wednesday ahead of an eventual civil lawsuit against Exum.
Parente added that he believed federal prosecutors in Indiana have launched a criminal investigation into Exum for the shooting. That case cannot be prosecuted by prosecutors in Illinois because Exum acted as their witness in the Martinez case.
In a statement Wednesday, a Border Patrol spokesperson said Exum was placed on administrative leave and referred any further questions to the Department of Justice.
“CBP is committed to the highest standards of conduct, transparency, and accountability,” the spokesperson said. “All significant use-of-force incidents are thoroughly investigated, reviewed, and presented to the National Use of Force Review Board (NUFRB), an independent body comprised of senior CBP officials and representatives from DHS and DOJ, including the DOJ Civil Rights Division.”
Parente on Wednesday said that evidence shows Exum also lied to federal investigators when he claimed that he fired five shots through Martinez’s windshield as she drove directly at him. According to Parente, the government’s own evidence shows one bullet hit the rear passenger window and another bullet traveled from the rear of the vehicle to the front.
Footage from inside the agents’ SUV instead shows one agent saying “It’s time to get aggressive and get the f--k out” before another says “We’re going to make contact, we’re boxed in” just before the agent driving appears to swerve the SUV to the left, making contact with Martinez’s vehicle.
The agents quickly exit and five gunshots can be heard offscreen. Another agent can then be heard yelling “Don’t you f--king move.”
Not included in the evidence is footage from Exum’s body camera, which was not activated at the time of the shooting.
Parente said the evidence also shows agents lied about being boxed in. He showed a diagram drawn by one agent who depicted three vehicles stacked in front of the agents’ SUV just before the shooting, but Parente said surveillance footage from nearby shows there were no cars there at the time.
Text messages sent by and to Border Patrol Agent Charles Exum showing the support he received after shooting Marimar Martinez. (WTTW News)
Less than fours after the shooting, Border Patrol Chief Greg Bovino praised Exum in an email and made him an offer to “extend your retirement beyond age 57” due to Exum’s “excellent service in Chicago.”
“(Y)ou have much yet left to do!!” Bovino wrote.
In another text chain titled “Posse Chat,” someone texted Exum asking “Are they supportive?”
Exum replied “Big time” adding “Everyone has been including Chief Bovino, Chief Banks, Sec. Noem and El Jefe himself… according to Bovino,” making reference to Border Patrol Chief Michael Banks and DHS Secretary Kristi Noem.
Parente said his belief is that “El Jefe” is a reference to President Donald Trump.
The evidence release comes days after a federal judge agreed to amend a protective order that had prevented federal prosecutors or Martinez’s attorney from sharing the texts and videos publicly.
Martinez survived the shooting and was charged with assaulting the agents, but federal prosecutors moved to dismiss that case with prejudice — meaning it cannot be refiled — just weeks later.
Still, in publicly available statements on the DHS website, Martinez is described as a “domestic terrorist” who “ambushed” the agents.
Martinez shared her recollection of the shooting last week as she testified before Congress in Washington D.C. She said she was on her way to drop off a donation of clothes to her local church when she saw a Border Patrol vehicle and began to tail it in an attempt to warn others around her of their presence in the area.
After following the vehicle for more than 15 minutes, Martinez said the driver swerved into her vehicle before they pulled over near 39th Street and Kedzie Avenue.
“It seemed like time stopped,” she testified.
Martinez said she tried to swerve away from the agents and drove past them, but as she did so, she began feeling a “burning sensation” in her arms and legs. Thinking she’d been struck with pepper balls, Martinez continued driving away before hearing her back passenger window shatter.
“I looked down and I noticed blood gushing out of my arms and legs,” she said. “I saw my life flash before me and slowly began to think this was the end for me.”
Martinez drove to a nearby repair shop and was taken from there into a hospital.
In her testimony, Martinez reiterated that she is not a domestic terrorist, and demanded “transparency and accountability” after her “own government tried to execute me.”
Citing the fatal shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti by federal agents in Minneapolis, Parente said he hopes the new evidence reveals how DHS, its agents and the government respond to these types of incidents.
“All we’re doing is showing the American people that this agency — that is allegedly coming to all of our towns and will continue coming to all of our towns going forward as long as Trump remains in office — that they’re hiring people who have this mindset,” he said.
