Houston ICE shooting: Second witness ordered to be released in 48 hours
HOUSTON - A federal judge has ordered the immediate release of Daniel Tirado Pantoja from custody after granting his petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus.
Witness ordered to be released
What we know:
United States District Judge Alfred H. Bennet granted Pantoja's habeas petition. Pantoja must be released from custody within 48 hours of the order's entry on Aug. 24.
Pantoja must be released in a public place within the Southern District of Texas. The court also instructed respondents to notify Pantoja's legal counsel about the exact time and location of his release at least three hours in advance.
Daniel Tirado Pantoja
Pantoja, a citizen of Mexico, was arrested and has since been held at the Montgomery Processing Center in Conroe, Texas.
Court documents report that Pantoja has no criminal history, is not a flight risk, and poses no danger to the community. While the government argued that he was subject to mandatory detention without bond, the court determined that continuing to detain him without an individualized assessment or opportunity to be heard violated his procedural due process.
Respondents are required to file a status report with the court within 72 hours of the order to provide an update on Pantoja's release.
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 Pantoja, on his way to a construction job.
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.
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.
What they're saying:
Cesar Espinosa with FIEL Houston gave this statement:
"Justice takes time, but justice comes. We welcome the fact that Daniel was released but caution the community and the people involved that this is not final. We must now do everything in our power to make sure that we keep a vigilant eye on this case so Mr. is not re-apprehended. We want to make sure that these key witnesses are protected so that at the end of the day we can get the answers the community deserves."
The Source: Information in this article was gathered from federal court documents filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas and previous FOX 26 reports.