Trendpills
Federal prosecutors have filed a motion to dismiss charges against Marimar Martinez, a Chicago woman who was shot five times by a U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agent in October. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois cited that the dismissal was “in the interest of justice,” a significant reversal in a case that drew national attention.
Martinez, 30, was initially charged with assaulting a federal officer with a deadly weapon. The incident occurred on October 4 in Chicago's Brighton Park neighborhood, where authorities alleged she and a co-defendant, Anthony Ian Santos-Ruiz, used their vehicles to ram an SUV driven by CBP agent Charles Exum. The agent, who was in Chicago as part of a federal deployment called "Operation Midway Blitz," fired his weapon nine times, striking Martinez five times and leaving her seriously wounded.
The case against Martinez began to unravel during pre-trial hearings, where damaging text messages from the agent were revealed. In messages to colleagues following the shooting, Agent Exum appeared to boast about the incident, writing, “Just another day at the office,” and when asked if he was okay, he replied, “Peachy. I’m a good shot.” These texts undermined the prosecution's narrative that the agent had acted solely in self-defense.
Furthermore, defense attorneys raised serious concerns about potential evidence destruction after it was disclosed that the agent’s government-issued SUV was released and repaired just hours after the shooting. The defense argued this prevented a proper forensic examination of the vehicle for crash data and impact marks. Martinez's lawyers maintained that she never intentionally rammed the agent's vehicle and was instead attempting to warn neighbors about the presence of federal agents in the community.
The motion to dismiss the charges is without prejudice, meaning they could theoretically be refiled. However, prosecutors stated the decision was made after a careful review of the case, signaling a likely end to the legal proceedings against her. The charges against the co-defendant, Santos-Ruiz, remain pending.
