Attorney representing man accused of killing girlfriend, hiding body in barrel, comments on immigration hold
Man accused of shooting, killing his girlfriend then hiding her body in a barrel appears in court
FOX 26 Reporter Angie Rodriguez has the latest after the man accused of shooting and killing his girlfriend and then hiding her body in a barrel appeared in court on Tuesday. We also spoke with family members of the victim who were in the courtroom during the hearing.
HOUSTON - On Tuesday morning, the man accused of killing his girlfriend and hiding her body inside a barrel was set to appear in a Harris County Criminal Courtroom. Instead, his attorney represented him in front of the judge.
The attorney argued to lower the bond for Varela, which was denied.
He then commented on Varela's current immigration hold, as well as how proceedings in the case could continue.
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Honduran man accused of killing girlfriend, dumping body in barrel on immigration hold
The man accused of shooting and killing his girlfriend in their Greenspoint home in early December has been confirmed by ICE officials to have an immigration hold.
"At this particular time, I know that there's a lot of attention to legislation that's passed about the detention of a person, mandatory detention," Attorney Timothy Donahue said. "At this point, because there's an ICE detainer and also because of the federal statute that passed earlier this year, Laken Riley Act, there's a limit on how much can be done to get him out of custody."
Donahue continued to share his thoughts towards the family of the victim.
"At this point, my focus is really condolences for the family of Mr. Ramirez," Donahue said. "But I certainly intend to, put the state to their evidence and ask them to show me the full extent of their file. Which there's been a very courteous discussion with the state, and we're in the process of looking at the case together to see where it goes."
The Source: Harris County Court Clerk, Houston Police Department.