iStock/Thinkstock(CHICAGO) — The man arrested for allegedly shooting a federal agent in the face last week appeared in a Chicago court today to face formal charges.
Ernesto Godinez, 27, was held without bond after appearing in federal court Tuesday morning in connection with what law enforcement officials have called an “ambush” on an agent from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) who was shot in a Chicago neighborhood known as “Back of the Yards.”
The unnamed agent that Godinez is alleged to have shot on Friday was working with the Chicago Crime Gun Strike Force, an ATF task force formed last summer in response to a surge in Chicago-area shootings.
The injured agent was transported to a hospital and is expected to make a full recovery, according to ATF officials.
Godinez is a member of the Almighty Saints gang, ABC Chicago station WLS reported.
Authorities confirmed that Godinez voluntarily surrendered to federal agents Monday night.
The criminal complaint charging Godinez identified him as the only person in the vicinity of the wounded undercover agent around 3:15 a.m. on May 4.
The complaint states that just before 3 a.m, three surveillance cameras captured “a stocky male with what appears to be long hair… wearing dark shorts and a dark t-shirt” getting into and later exiting a white Kia SUV.
The details of the man in the footage are “consistent with the description of Godinez,” according to investigator accounts in the complaint.
The strike force team members were tasked with covertly replacing a tracking device on a vehicle parked in an area nearby Godinez’s mother’s home, where the suspect reportedly lived, according to court documents.
When agents saw that there were no civilians in the area, they attempted to switch out the device.
One of the agents was walking near the operation when “he was shot in the face.”
The complaint also asserts that “approximately seven shots were fired” — relying on a sensor device known as a “Shot Spotter” which determines both the time and location of fired gunshots.
Law enforcement officers collected five shell casings near that spot, just “across the alley from Godinez residence.”
Another casing was recovered close to where the ATF agent was shot.
The complaint also says that responding officers returned fire.
It’s unclear how many response shots were fired.
Minutes after the shooting, however, investigators report seeing Godinez on the surveillance video entering his home while “wiping his face, and holding what appears to be a cell phone,” according to the affidavit.
In court on Tuesday, Godinez did not enter a plea after being charged with having “forcibly assaulted” a federal agent … and of having “used a deadly and dangerous weapon“ in the alleged assault.
If convicted, Godinez could be sent to prison for two decades and be fined as much as $250,000, authorities said.
The surrender of Godinez ended a widespread manhunt in response to the ATF agent’s shooting.
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