Credibility: Original Reporting Sources Cited Original Reporting This article contains new, firsthand information uncovered by its reporter(s). This includes directly interviewing sources and research/analysis of primary source documents. Sources Cited As a news piece, this article cites verifiable, third-party sources which have all been thoroughly fact-checked and deemed credible by the Newsroom. Charges against Marimar Martinez (right) were dropped Thursday. Credit: Colin Boyle/Block Club Chicago, Provided BRIGHTON PARK — Federal prosecutors are dropping charges against a woman who was shot by Border Patrol agents in early October. U.S. Attorney Andrew Boutros and Assistant U.S. Attorney Ronald Bond filed the motion to drop charges against Marimar Martinez, 30, and co-defendant Anthony Ian Santos Ruiz, 21, early Thursday. Martinez and Ruiz had been charged with assaulting, impeding and interfering with a federal law enforcement officer during a tense clash between neighbors and Border Patrol agents on Oct. 4. Martinez and Ruiz were accused of hitting a Border Patrol agent’s vehicle, according to federal prosecutors’ charging documents. Agents were allegedly pinned in by the cars and saw Martinez continue to drive at agents, at which point an agent got out of his car and shot Martinez multiple times, prosecutors said. But Martinez’s attorney disputed that narrative, saying footage from body-worn cameras contradicts their version of events. The agent who shot Martinez was allowed to drive the car involved in the incident to Maine before Martinez’s attorney could inspect it. The case was one of the most high-profile criminal cases to come out of Operation Midway Blitz since it started in September. The move to drop the charges happened just hours before a hearing where defense attorneys were expected to reveal new texts from the agent who shot Martinez, according to the Chicago Tribune. Previous texts from the agent had already been read to the court, including texts from the agent in a group chat of other agents in which he said he was “up for another round of “f––– around and find out.” He had also texted a link to a news article about the shooting and wrote, “Read it … I fired 5 shots and she had 7 holes. Put that in your book boys,” according to the Tribune. Post navigation