Crime & Law
Feds Dismiss Charges Against Woman Shot by Border Patrol Agent in Brighton Park
An ICE officer watches protestors as a Lenco BearCat vehicle drives to the scene in the Brighton Park neighborhood of Chicago, on Saturday, Oct. 4, 2025, after protesters learned that U.S. Border Patrol shot a woman Saturday morning on Chicago's Southwest Side. (Anthony Vazquez / Chicago Sun-Times via AP)
Federal prosecutors have dismissed criminal charges against Marimar Martinez, who was charged with assaulting federal immigration agents, one of whom shot her multiple times during a vehicle incident in Brighton Park last month.
In a one-page motion filed Thursday morning, assistant U.S. attorneys Ronald DeWald and Aaron Bond said they “respectfully (move) this Court to dismiss the indictment” against Martinez and another man, Anthony Ian Santos Ruiz, who were each charged in October following the shooting at 39th Street and Kedzie.
U.S. District Judge Georgia Alexakis granted that motion during a brief hearing Thursday afternoon.
“I’m just grateful for everything,” Martinez told reporters in the lobby of the Dirksen Federal Building following the hearing. “I’m just happy, I’m excited.”
Prosecutors in court Thursday confirmed the case would be dismissed with prejudice, meaning the criminal charges against Martinez and Ruiz cannot be refiled at a later date.
No additional explanation for the sudden dismissal was provided.
Following the shooting, texts from the Border Patrol agent who fired at Martinez revealed he apparently bragged about the shooting to others, stating in one message that he’d “fired 5 rounds and she had 7 holes. Put that in your book boys.”
Joseph Fitzpatrick, a spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s Office, on Thursday said the office is “constantly evaluating new facts and information” relating to the cases and investigations that arose out of “Operation Midway Blitz” — the enhanced immigration efforts undertaken by the Trump administration in Chicago in recent months.
Fitzpatrick called that operation the “largest ever law enforcement surge” within the Northern District of Illinois.
“This continuous review process applies to all matters — whether charged or under investigation,” he said in a statement. “It helps ensure that the interests of justice are served in each and every case, and that those cases that are charged are appropriately adjudicated through our federal court system.”
The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday morning.
Prosecutors had alleged Martinez and Ruiz were among a civilian group that was tracking a Border Patrol vehicle on Oct. 4 when she used her car to ram into the agents’ vehicle.
Prosecutors claimed the vehicles driven by Martinez and Ruiz boxed in the agents’ vehicle at which point Border Patrol agent Charles Exum exited the car, and fired five shots from his service weapon at Martinez.
None of the agents were injured, according to a statement posted on social media by a Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman at the time. The department referred to Martinez and Ruiz as “domestic terrorists” and claimed Martinez was armed with a semi-automatic weapon, though she was never charged with any weapons violations.
Martinez, who was struck several times, drove to a repair shop about a mile away, according to federal prosecutors. Martinez was taken by ambulance to a hospital, where she received treatment for gunshot wounds, according to a statement from federal prosecutors.
Ruiz was arrested at a gas station about a half block away, according to a statement from federal prosecutors.
Martinez pleaded not guilty and her attorneys had pushed for a speedy trial. Martinez’s attorney Christopher Parente previously said in court that body-camera footage from the incident showed an agent carrying an assault rifle and saying “Do something b--ch” before the shooting, according to the Chicago Tribune.
Following the hearing Thursday, her attorney Christopher Parente thanked the U.S. Attorney’s Office for dismissing the charges, saying they saw the case the way he saw it, “which is that these agents were lying.”
“It was a bad shoot,” Parente said, adding that Exum would eventually “pay” for the shots he fired at Martinez. “They know it, it was gonna come out eventually.”
Text messages revealed in court as part of the case showed Exum had bragged to others, sending out a story about the shooting with the message “Read it. 5 shots, 7 holes.”
He later added “Cool. I’m up for another round of ‘f--k around and find out’” and then “Sweet. My 15 mins of fame. Lmao.”
Martinez said she has been feeling “fine” since the shooting, adding that she wanted to go home and sleep now that the case is over with.
“Put that in your books Exum,” Martinez said.
Heather Cherone contributed to this report.
