Substance in work van of man killed by ICE tested negative for drugs, prosecutor says
A substance found in the work van of a Mexican immigrant killed by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent has tested negative for illicit drugs, the top prosecutor in Houston said Friday.
The revelation is a major development in the case of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo , a construction worker who was fatally shot by an ICE officer in Houston on July 7 after living in the U.S. for 35 years. ICE has maintained Salgado Araujo "weaponized" his vehicle during an attempted traffic stop, prompting an agent to shoot him in self-defense. The other men in the van, who remain in ICE custody, have disputed that allegation.
Roughly a week or so after the killing, which was followed by another fatal shooting by an ICE agent in Maine less than a week later, the FBI submitted an affidavit in federal court saying it suspected that the van Salgado Araujo was driving contained methamphetamine. The FBI affidavit included photos taken from outside of the vehicle that showed small bags with a white crystal-like substance that an agent said was consistent with meth.
But on Friday, the office of Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare said the test results had come back negative.
"We can confirm the substance found in Lorenzo Salgado Araujo's van tested negative for narcotics / illicit drugs," the office added in a statement. "We have notified Salgado Araujo's family because we felt they had the right to know."
Teare's office said it would not be providing more details on the test results, citing an ongoing investigation.