HOUSTON – Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare has confirmed he intends to get several witnesses in front of a grand jury “very soon.”
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Houston ICE shooting: Harris County D.A. says he intends to get witnesses in front of grand jury “very soon”
What we know:
On Thursday, Teare appeared on Houston Public Radio and said he intends to get Daniel Tirado Pantoja and Jose Rojas Pliego in front of the grand jury.
Teare also said in the interview he knew who the shooter was.
He added, at this point, he has gotten everything he will get from the feds and other entities about the case and essentially plans to move forward with what he’s got.
The backstory:
On July 7, Lorenzo Salgado Araujo was shot and killed by an ICE officer on the morning in Houston’s East End.
At the time of the shooting, his family says he was picking up three workers, which included Tirado Pantoja and Pliego, on his way to a construction job.
Scene photo via Juliet Martinez
A federal prosecutor has said that ICE officers that morning were targeting two Guatemalan men who were potentially subject to deportation and driving a van similar to Salgado Araujo’s vehicle.
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ICE officers claim they were trying to conduct a stop on Salgado Araujo’s work van when he rammed their vehicle, refused to follow verbal commands and tried to run over an officer. The agency says the ICE officer shot Salgado Araujo in self-defense.
The Associated Press reports that the passengers, according to their attorneys, have disputed DHS’s account of the shooting.
Tirado Pantoja was one of three surviving passengers inside the van on July 7. Jose Rojas Pliego was released from immigration custody on July 29 after a federal judge granted his habeas petition.
Lorenzo Salgado Araujo’s brother, Victor Salgado, remains in ICE custody while his own habeas petition is pending.
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