Govind Tekale
Carlos Jimenez filed a 54-page, $25.18 million federal lawsuit on November 6, 2026, four days after a federal judge dismissed felony assault charges against him with prejudice. The suit names the United States, San Bernardino County, ICE officer Eusebio Ortiz, CBP officers N. Jimenez and S. Cosey, and FBI Special Agent Estevan R. Banuelos.
On October 30, 2025, at about 7:00 a.m., Jimenez was driving his Lexus to his job at a food pantry on Vineyard Avenue in Ontario, California. He stopped to warn ICE officers of children gathering at an adjacent school bus stop. Officer Ortiz pointed his gun at Jimenez’s face, threatened to shoot, displayed pepper spray, and fired multiple rounds through the rear passenger-side window as Jimenez attempted a three-point turn. The shots fractured Jimenez’s right shoulder blade and lodged bullet fragments near his right lung.
At Riverside Community Hospital, FBI agents interfered with his trauma care. They removed him in handcuffs and a leather waist restraint and drove him back to the shooting scene while he bled and vomited in their van. Agents warned him not to ruin their vehicle.
The Department of Homeland Security claimed Jimenez attempted to run officers over by reversing directly at them. A grand jury indicted him on November 18, 2025, for assaulting a federal officer under 18 U.S.C. 111.
Alleged Witness Fabrication and the Federal Policy Gap
The civil complaint accuses FBI Special Agent Estevan R. Banuelos of fabricating interview reports. The reports claimed neighbors Manuel Villareal and Beatrice Morales said Jimenez had room to pull forward without reversing. Both neighbors told defense investigators they never said that and did not witness the shooting.
In October 2025, the criminal complaint against Jimenez relegated the shooting itself to a footnote. It stated Ortiz holstered his gun, pulled out pepper spray, and “At approximately this time, Ortiz shot Jimenez, hitting him in the right shoulder.” The complaint included no sworn statement from Ortiz claiming he felt in danger.
ICE’s Use of Force Policy (Directive 19009.3) permits agents to shoot at moving vehicles based on a subjective “reasonable belief” of danger. Unlike DOJ and FBI standards, it does not explicitly require agents to step out of a vehicle’s path. That policy difference is central to the case.
DOJ Los Angeles prosecution records show 33 dismissals and 9 acquittals out of 113 cases since spring 2025. The ACLU tracks 32 shootings and 506 detained U.S. citizens nationwide since January 20, 2025. For context on federal accountability, see the DOJ denaturalization cases against naturalized citizens and the CJP police notices from the October 10 protest. More on civil rights litigation sits in our activism coverage.
The Discovery Deadline That Triggered the Diversion
In May 2026, U.S. District Judge Kenly Kiya Kato ordered the government to turn over Ortiz’s personal and government phone texts within seven days or provide a sworn declaration under penalty of perjury that none existed. On the exact day that deadline fell, prosecutors signed a diversion deal. Condition #1 required Jimenez to drop all pending discovery motions. Jimenez agreed, and Judge Kato dismissed the indictment with prejudice on November 2, 2026.
Prosecutors had earlier claimed Ortiz had zero text messages about the shooting while turning over messages from his partner officers. Defense attorneys wrote to Judge Kato that “it strains credulity to believe that immigration officer Ortiz has zero text messages related to this incident.”
Can a U.S. Citizen Sue ICE for Being Wrongfully Shot or Detained?
Yes. A U.S. citizen can sue the federal government for monetary damages under the Federal Tort Claims Act (28 U.S.C. 1346, 2671-2680) when federal officers commit negligent or wrongful acts like assault, battery, false arrest, or malicious prosecution within the scope of their employment, provided an administrative claim is filed within two years. The ACLU has filed more than 50 such claims across 17 states.
What Comes Next
DOJ spokesperson Ciaran McEvoy stated a grand jury indicted Jimenez and that Jimenez agreed to the diversion stay. Rep. Norma Torres has demanded body-camera footage and accountability from Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons and FBI Director Kash Patel. The federal government has 60 days to file a motion to dismiss or answer the civil complaint. The civil case will force discovery that the criminal case avoided.
