Two Chicago residents have been charged in federal court with using their vehicles to assault and impede federal agents. According to a criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court, Marimar Martinez, 30, and Anthony Ian Santos Ruiz, 21, allegedly struck a vehicle driven by an agent of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) on Saturday morning near West 39th Street and South Kedzie Avenue on Chicago’s Southwest Side. Two other CBP agents were also present in the government vehicle.
The complaint states that after colliding with the agents’ vehicle, Martinez and Ruiz used their cars to box it in, preventing the agent from moving. The agent exited his car and fired approximately five shots from his service weapon at Martinez.
Martinez left the scene but was later found by paramedics at a repair shop about a mile away. She was transported by ambulance to a hospital for treatment of gunshot wounds. Ruiz also fled but was located by law enforcement at a gas station nearby.
Both defendants remain in custody pending initial appearances in federal court.
The charges against Martinez and Ruiz include forcibly assaulting, impeding, and interfering with a federal law enforcement officer.
Andrew S. Boutros, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, and Douglas S. DePodesta, Special Agent-in-Charge of the FBI’s Chicago Field Office, announced the charges.
“The public is reminded that a complaint contains only charges and is not evidence of guilt. The defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.”
