Overview
- Defense lawyers introduced messages in which Agent Charles Exum appeared to boast about the Oct. 4 shooting, including, “I fired 5 rounds and she had 7 holes. Put that in your book boys.”
- U.S. District Judge Georgia Alexakis questioned inconsistent accounts and differential treatment of vehicles, and directed that Exum’s unredacted texts be produced and the Chevy Tahoe be brought back for examination.
- Exum testified the FBI released the government SUV hours after the shooting, it was driven over 1,000 miles to Maine, and scuff marks were later buffed out by a CBP mechanic, with records reflecting conflicting explanations for who authorized repairs.
- Prosecutors say agents were rammed and fired defensively, while the defense argues the Border Patrol vehicle sideswiped Marimar Martinez; no pre-incident video has been released and Exum was not wearing a body camera at the time.
- Martinez and co-defendant Anthony Ian Santos Ruiz have pleaded not guilty to assaulting a federal officer; a multi-day evidentiary hearing is underway ahead of a February jury trial set during the Operation Midway Blitz enforcement push.