Lorenzo Salgado Araujo’s sons want answers as investigation moves toward grand jury

HOUSTON - Nearly two months after an ICE agent shot and killed Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, his sons say bringing one of the most important witnesses to their father’s death home has given their family some relief — but it has also opened a new chapter in their search for answers.

Ronaldo Salgado and Lorenzo Salgado Jr. sat down with FOX 26 Wednesday, just days after their uncle, Victor Salgado Araujo, was released from federal immigration custody.

Victor was sitting in the passenger seat beside his older brother when Lorenzo was shot July 7 during a federal immigration enforcement operation in Houston’s East End.

For the brothers, however, Victor is more than a witness.

Lorenzo Jr. said his uncle lived with their family while they were growing up and became "very much like he’s our oldest brother."

Family Continues To Grieve:

Victor spent more than 50 days in federal immigration custody after witnessing his brother’s death.

Ronaldo said having his uncle home has made clear just how much he is still carrying from that morning and the weeks that followed.

"It’s tough. It’s extremely tough," Ronaldo said. "I mean, he can’t sleep well. He is not eating well at all."

Ronaldo said Victor witnessed "the worst of the worst" when his brother was killed beside him and then spent weeks in detention without what the family considered the freedom to grieve openly.

"He saw his own brother killed right next to him, right in front of him," Ronaldo said. "So, add 54 days in detention without having the freedom to grieve as openly as he wanted to ... it took a toll."

The brothers are also confronting their own grief.

Ronaldo described recovery as a day-to-day process.

"I know I’m not okay, and I don’t think I’ll ever be," he said. "But I’m going to continue doing whatever it takes to get justice for my dad."

Lorenzo Jr. said mental health care has become an important part of his grieving process. He told FOX 26 he meets with his provider about twice a week.

"Now it’s the beginning of the rest of our lives," he said. "Just figuring out how to adjust to life without my father is where we’re at right now."

What happened July 7?

The backstory:

Lorenzo was driving a white work van with Victor, Daniel Tirado Pantoja and Jose Trinidad Rojas Pliego when they encountered federal immigration agents in Houston’s East End on July 7.

Federal records previously reviewed by FOX 26 show agents had been conducting an immigration enforcement operation involving other individuals and began following Lorenzo’s white van after confusing it with a vehicle they were looking for. Lorenzo was not the intended target of the operation.

Federal authorities have said an agent fired after Lorenzo’s van struck an ICE vehicle during the encounter. The circumstances surrounding the use of deadly force remain under investigation.

Lorenzo was killed. Victor, Tirado Pantoja and Rojas Pliego survived and were taken into federal immigration custody.

Their detention quickly became an issue in the local investigation because the three men were the surviving witnesses inside the van.

Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare has repeatedly argued that investigators needed access to the men outside a detention setting so they could speak freely about what happened.

Rojas Pliego was the first of the three to be released, on July 29.

A federal judge later granted Tirado Pantoja’s habeas petition, and he was released Aug. 26. His immigration proceedings remain ongoing.

Victor, who was sitting directly beside Lorenzo, remained in custody the longest. He was released Sunday, Aug. 30, after more than 50 days in detention.

That means, for the first time since the shooting, all three surviving witnesses are out of federal immigration custody.

Victor Remembers Shooting:

Ronaldo said his uncle has begun telling him what he remembers about July 7 — and says Victor's memories remain remarkably detailed.

"He remembers everything," Ronaldo said.

According to Ronaldo, Victor remembers the sequence of events and even the expression he says he saw on the face of the agent who shot his brother.

Ronaldo said those conversations can be difficult, with Victor sometimes crying or breaking down as he recounts what happened.

"He remembers every detail, and it’s extremely upsetting for us to hear," Ronaldo said, "but it’s something that needs to be heard."

The family recognizes that those memories could also become important to the investigations into Lorenzo’s death.

What Justice Means:

Ronaldo said Victor understands his significance as a witness but also needs time to process what happened.

"He knows that his testimony is extremely important, but he also knows that he needs, like, time to heal, time to process everything," Ronaldo said.

He said the same is true for Tirado Pantoja and Rojas Pliego.

Still, the family understands investigators are moving forward.

"We understand the urgency. We understand the need for this grand jury to happen because it is the first step, the first major step in getting justice for my dad," Ronaldo said.

When FOX 26 asked what justice itself would look like, Ronaldo said his family wants more than a single answer.

"In order to get justice for my dad, we need full transparent investigations," Ronaldo said. "That looks like us getting the full story of what happened, the true story of what happened."

He said the family also wants to see consequences if wrongdoing is found and changes to the system.

Investigation Moves Forward:

The Harris County District Attorney’s Office opened its own investigation into Lorenzo’s death one day after the shooting.

Teare has said his prosecutors and investigators, working with the Texas Rangers, have gathered much of the physical and digital evidence surrounding the shooting and believe they know the identities of all the federal agents who were at the scene.

The surviving witnesses are now a significant part of what comes next.

Before Victor's release, Teare told FOX 26 getting him out of detention was critical because prosecutors wanted to interview him in an environment where he could speak freely without worrying about who might be listening.

With the other witnesses already released, Teare said his office was having "meaningful, open conversations with them now that they’re not in custody."

Teare said prosecutors intend to bring the surviving witnesses before a grand jury. He has cautioned, however, that the process will not happen overnight.

"I would love to say that it’ll be next week, but it won’t," Teare told FOX 26 last week. "We’ve only got one chance to do this the right way."

Still, Teare said the timeframe for a grand jury presentation has shortened. If charges are ultimately filed and an indictment obtained, he said any resulting criminal case could take years to work its way through the courts.

A grand jury presentation does not mean an indictment is imminent. Prosecutors can use the grand jury process to obtain sworn testimony and evidence as they determine whether criminal charges are warranted.

Meanwhile, federal investigations into the shooting also remain ongoing.

Remembering Their Father:

For Ronaldo and Lorenzo Jr., the investigations are only one part of what the past two months have looked like.

They described a father who worked hard and emphasized education because he wanted his sons to have opportunities beyond the physical labor he had done.

Ronaldo, who became a teacher, said he credits his father with instilling his work ethic and the importance he places on education.

The family has also received support well beyond Houston. Relatives traveled from across the United States and Mexico after Lorenzo’s death, and the brothers said they heard stories about their father’s younger years that they had never heard before.

Lorenzo Jr. said continuing to tell his father’s story publicly is important because he does not want the circumstances of Lorenzo’s death to become the only thing people know about him.

"He wasn’t a bad person. He didn’t deserve what happened to him that morning," Lorenzo Jr. said. "And he was just going to work like so many others, and people really resonate with that story."

Ronaldo said he hopes that years from now, people remember both his father and the community that rallied around his family.

"I hope when people are learning about this, you know, they learn about a man who simply was trying to go to work," Ronaldo said.

He said he wants future generations to remember the support that came from the East End, across Houston, around the country and beyond.

"The name that I want forever, like in history, to be remembered is Lorenzo Salgado Araujo," Ronaldo said.

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