FILE - FBI investigators work on the scene near the 10200 block of Southeast Main Street in Portland where two people were shot and wounded Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, by U.S. Border Patrol earlier that day.
Eli Imadali / OPB
A Venezuelan man shot by U.S. Border Patrol in Portland earlier this year was sentenced Wednesday to time served.
Luis Niño-Moncada was shot outside a medical clinic in January while fleeing an immigration traffic stop. He’s spent about nine months in federal custody.
Niño-Moncada appeared in court Wednesday, dressed in street clothes.
During a tearful statement in court, Niño-Moncada told U.S. District Court Judge Karin Immergut he thought he was going to be killed.
“I have never been so scared,” he said, speaking through an interpreter. “Despite my experiences I love this country and the people in it.”
The shooting in Portland came at a time of heightened anxiety over the Trump administration’s aggressive immigration crackdown. On Jan. 7, just one day before Niño-Moncada was shot, an immigration officer shot and killed Renee Good in Minneapolis.
Immergut thanked him before adding, “From the perspective of the law enforcement agents it was frightening to them too,” she said. “Both sides felt very frightened and at risk.”
In July, Niño-Moncada pleaded guilty to depredation of federal property for damaging a rental vehicle driven by Border Patrol officers. Federal prosecutors dismissed a more serious felony charge, assaulting a federal officer.
Prosecutors argued Niño-Moncada drove a Toyota pickup “recklessly endangering the federal agents who had surrounded his vehicle to make the arrest.”
Defense attorneys argued the order of events would’ve been contested had the case gone to trial. Citing physical and video evidence, Niño-Moncada’s defense attorneys argued the Border Patrol officer who shot him that day had moved toward the Toyota and “was not in position to be hit by the truck; he likely fired to prevent the truck from fleeing rather than in self-defense.”
They also acknowledged there was no justification for rapidly backing the pickup into the empty rental car.
“He accepts responsibility and punishment for that conduct,” defense attorneys wrote in court filings. “Mr. Niño-Moncada’s decision was made in a moment of panic and does not reflect a pattern of combative or defiant behavior.”
The rental vehicle was destroyed, and as part of his sentence, Niño-Moncada was ordered to repay $24,413 in restitution.
“We believe that is a reasonable sentence,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas Edmonds said Wednesday in court, adding, “Hertz rental car is the victim.”
Assistant Federal Public Defender Michael Benson told Immergut his client had suffered from his injuries and was the first client he met in the hospital.
“That was a career first for me,” Benson said.
On Friday, Benson filed court documents stating U.S. Customs and Border Protection attempted to “remove” evidence from the scene, but was prevented by Portland police officers. Those details were not discussed during Wednesday’s sentencing hearing.
The Oregon Department of Justice continues to investigate the shooting.
