Federal records reveal new details in deadly ICE shooting as witnesses could face grand jury

HOUSTON - Key witnesses in the deadly ICE shooting of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo could soon testify before a Harris County grand jury as prosecutors move into the next phase of their investigation.

What we know:

Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare told FOX 26 Friday that investigators have gathered essentially all of the evidence from the day of the July 7 shooting and are now focused on securing testimony from witnesses.

"The next step for us is to lock in the witnesses," Teare said. "We have the ability to use the grand jury to get sworn testimony from witnesses, to get cooperative witnesses in there quickly, to compel witnesses who may be reluctant to come in and give us testimony."

Teare said prosecutors ultimately plan to present the facts to a grand jury to determine whether an indictment is warranted.

What happened July 7?:

Salgado Araujo was shot and killed by an ICE agent July 7 during a federal immigration enforcement operation in Houston’s East End.

Lorenzo was driving his white work van with his brother, Victor Salgado Araujo, and Daniel Tirado Pantoja inside.

Lorenzo was not the target of the immigration enforcement operation.

Federal immigration records reviewed by FOX 26 provide additional details about the operation and the events agents say led up to the shooting.

The records were included as exhibits in an Aug. 11 filing by the U.S. Attorney’s Office opposing Tirado Pantoja’s request to be released from federal custody. The government asked the court to deny his habeas petition or grant summary judgment in its favor.

According to the federal records, ICE agents were looking for other individuals when they began following Lorenzo’s white van after confusing it with a vehicle connected to the people they were seeking.

The records say agents activated emergency lights and sirens during the pursuit and allege Lorenzo’s van eventually struck or "rammed" an ICE vehicle.

ICE has maintained Lorenzo attempted to use the van as a weapon. The surviving men have disputed key portions of the federal government’s account.

While the federal records provide a detailed account of the events leading up to the confrontation, they do not provide the same kind of detailed narrative describing the moment the ICE agent fired the shots that killed Lorenzo.

Questions about the tip:

The federal records also provide additional information about what ICE says led to the immigration operation.

According to the records, the ICE team had "previously received intel from DPS Troopers" about two subjects in a white van.

The records indicate agents were looking for those individuals when they later confused Lorenzo’s white work van with a vehicle connected to the people they were seeking.

Lorenzo was not one of the targets.

Focus turns to witnesses:

As prosecutors continue reviewing the evidence surrounding the shooting, Teare says his office is moving into a new phase of the investigation focused on witness testimony.

Two key witnesses are now out of ICE custody.

Jose Trinidad Rojas Pliego was released in July. Tirado Pantoja was released Wednesday after a federal judge granted his petition for a writ of habeas corpus.

Lorenzo’s brother, Victor Salgado Araujo, remains in ICE custody.

Teare told FOX 26 Victor’s continued detention does not prevent his office from moving forward, but he called getting Victor out of custody "critical."

"It’s not contingent, but it is critical that we get Mr. Salgado out of detention in a meaningful time frame so that we can have his true rendition of the facts," Teare said.

Teare said prosecutors need Victor to testify before the grand jury, but investigators also want the opportunity to speak with him outside federal detention.

"We need to interview him where the federal government doesn’t have him detained, where the government isn’t listening to everything," Teare said. "We need to have a free flowing conversation with him."

Teare called the fact that Victor remains in custody "just not right, quite frankly."

Prosecutors also plan to seek testimony from the witnesses who have been released.

"We absolutely intend to get them into the grand jury, but we also have and will continue to have meaningful, open conversations with them now that they’re not in custody," Teare said.

Daniel released:

A federal judge ordered Tirado Pantoja’s release this week after granting his habeas petition challenging his detention.

His release, however, did not end the immigration proceedings against him.

Kerry Doyle, a partner at Green and Spiegel who represents Tirado Pantoja in his immigration case, told FOX 26 Friday that her client is interested in and willing to cooperate with the Harris County investigation.

Doyle said prosecutors previously interviewed Tirado Pantoja and have asked him to return to provide additional information as the investigation moves forward.

Doyle said she has largely given Tirado Pantoja time to be with his family since his release.

She said when she spoke with him while he was detained, "he was not doing well."

Doyle described the combination of witnessing Lorenzo’s death and then spending weeks in immigration detention as traumatic.

"I’m just really pleased that he can be with his family and hopefully start healing from all he’s been through," Doyle said.

Deportation case continues:

While Tirado Pantoja is no longer detained, the federal government is still pursuing his deportation.

Doyle said that leaves her client navigating two processes at once: preparing to cooperate with Harris County prosecutors while simultaneously fighting to remain in the United States.

Tirado Pantoja has applied for a U visa, a form of immigration relief available to certain victims of qualifying crimes who cooperate with law enforcement.

Doyle confirmed his application has been filed and is pending. She said the process can take years, in part because the number of U visas issued each year is limited.

Meanwhile, his deportation proceedings continue.

Asked whether Tirado Pantoja could receive a deportation order before his U visa is resolved, Doyle said there is a realistic possibility.

"Unfortunately, that takes them a while to process the visas, and in the meantime, they’re pursuing his deportation," Doyle said. "I think there is a realistic possibility of a deportation order before the visa is resolved."

Preparing for grand jury:

Doyle said Tirado Pantoja’s legal team is already preparing for the possibility that he could appear before the grand jury.

"The grand jury, I understand, is coming up pretty soon, so we’re going to be working with him to prepare him for that, to assist the district attorney in that process," Doyle said.

There is also a dispute over the conditions ICE placed on Tirado Pantoja after his release.

Doyle said Tirado Pantoja was released under what is known as Alternatives to Detention. According to Doyle, his habeas attorneys believe those conditions violate the federal judge’s release order and may ask the judge to review the issue.

Tirado Pantoja will also return to immigration court. Doyle said because he is no longer detained, his case will move from the detained docket to the non-detained docket and he will receive a new hearing before an immigration judge.

When could they testify?:

Teare would not give FOX 26 a specific date for when witnesses could begin appearing before the grand jury.

When asked what he meant by saying the process could move forward "very soon," Teare said, "I would love to say that it’ll be next week, but it won’t."

He said there are still factors outside his office’s control and emphasized that prosecutors want to conduct the investigation deliberately.

"We only have one chance to do this and do it right," Teare said.

Still, he said the timeline for an eventual grand jury presentation is getting shorter.

A witness appearing before a grand jury does not mean an indictment is imminent. Prosecutors can use a grand jury to obtain sworn testimony and other evidence as part of an investigation.

If prosecutors ultimately ask the grand jury for an indictment and charges are returned, Teare said the court process that follows could take years.

Agents identified:

Teare also told FOX 26 investigators believe they have identified the federal agents who were present at the scene of the shooting.

"We feel pretty confident that we have the identities of all the agents that were at the scene at the shooting," Teare said.

Teare said Houston police have provided his office with every piece of evidence HPD has related to the case. He described HPD Chief Noe Diaz and Houston Mayor John Whitmire’s administration as helpful to the investigation, while noting HPD was not involved in the federal operation.

Ultimately, Teare said his office will independently determine whether the evidence supports criminal charges.

"There will not be anything but this office’s determination about whether or not a crime was committed, and if it was, what the appropriate charge will be," Teare said.

He said the public will eventually receive "a full airing of the evidence from this office."