SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A man who was shot seven times by immigration agents in Patterson and then charged with using his car as a deadly weapon pleaded not guilty in Sacramento federal court Monday.

Carlos Ivan Mendoza Hernandez appeared in court in a wheelchair, with a foam block supporting his wounded arm. In a sign, perhaps, of the significance his case had taken on, and the attention it had drawn, he was represented personally by Federal Public Defender Heather Williams, the top lawyer in an office of 82 attorneys tasked with representing those who cannot afford to hire outside counsel for criminal cases in federal court.

The hearing was Mendoza Hernandez’s first appearance before U.S. District Judge Dale Drozd since a federal grand jury indicted him in the case last week.

Drozd read the three charges against Mendoza Hernandez — two counts of assaulting a federal officer and one count of destruction of government property. If convicted, the native of El Salvador faced up to 20 years in prison for each of the assault charges and 10 years for destruction of government property, Drozd said.

Mendoza Hernandez, 36, pleaded not guilty to all three counts.

The case stemmed from an immigration-enforcement traffic stop that rapidly turned violent after agents followed Mendoza Hernandez from his home in Patterson near Modesto.

The agents said they had obtained information that Mendoza Hernandez did not have authorization to be in the United States, and were staking out his home around dawn on April 7, court documents show. Four agents in at least two vehicles followed him when he left the home where he lived with his fiancée and a 2-year-old child to go to work that morning, pulling him over near an entrance to I-5 in Patterson.

When Mendoza Hernandez did not immediately get out of the car, agents drew their guns, court documents say. One broke the window of his Toyota C-HR in order to pull him out of the automobile.

Moments later, at 6:28 a.m., the car rolled forward, hitting the corner of an ICE vehicle and causing an agent who was leaning against the car to move, the indictment says. The agent opened fire. Mendoza then backed up the car slightly and pulled out, nearly hitting an ICE agent as he fled amid a hail of bullets.

Wounded seven times in the arm, torso and mouth, Mendoza Hernandez soon pulled the car over and was taken to Doctors Medical Center in Modesto, where he spent a week in the intensive care unit before being released into the custody of the FBI. He is being held at a federal detention center in Kern County.

The two assault charges stemmed from the proximity of the car to one of the ICE agents, and the destruction of property charge stemmed from the Toyota striking the rear driver’s side corner of the ICE vehicle, the indictment says. It does not allege that Mendoza Hernandez hit the agent with his car.

In court, Williams stood out from other attorneys, most of whom practiced in federal court wearing high-end business suits and, for women, heels. The four-term federal defender wore gray slacks, low-heeled shoes and a dark bluish purple twinset. She spoke quietly but firmly in court, and when she addressed Mendoza Hernandez she looked into his face and placed her hand gently on his shoulder.

After she entered Mendoza Hernandez’s plea, Williams asked Drozd to set his next hearing for July 27, saying the defense would need time to fully prepare its case. U.S. Attorney Jason Hitt said he agreed, but Drozd questioned the request, saying he had a flexible calendar and could begin the trial sooner.

“I can try this case whenever the defense wants a trial,” Drozd said.

This prompted a retort from Williams.

“And the defense wants enough time to prepare, Your Honor,” she said.

After the hearing she met with Mendoza Hernandez’s family outside the courtroom.

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