Lawyers for three witnesses who saw an ICE agent fatally shoot their friend during a traffic stop last week said Thursday that bags of a “crystal-like substance” found in the Houston man’s van held salt for a homemade electrolyte mix, disputing the FBI’s claims that it could be methamphetamine.
Witnesses Victor Salgado, Daniel Tirado Pantoja and Jose Trinidad Rojas are being detained at an ICE facility in Conroe following the June 7 death of their work supervisor Lorenzo Salgado Araujo. The men have all said through their attorneys that allegations made by federal agents since the shooting are untrue.
The FBI submitted a warrant affidavit to a federal judge on July 14 claiming that an FBI agent described arriving on scene after the shooting and allegedly observed small plastic bags “with a white crystal-like substance” inside Araujo’s van that he suspected could be methamphetamine.
The reports were immediately met with skepticism that the evidence was planted to justify the shooting. Araujo, 52, had no criminal background, was in the process of getting his citizenship and was married with three college-educated sons.
Attorney Hugo Balderas Ibarra, who represents Pantoja and Rojas, posted a video message to social media Thursday saying he’d just spoken to his clients. “They both reassured me that whatever [the FBI is] saying is completely false,” Ibarra said. “They did both mention that sometimes they would carry granulated salt and would add it into their water along with lime, sort of an electrolyte mix to help with cramping, to help with the heat, something not uncommon for people who work outdoors. They’ve both reassured me that once these tests are completed, it will clear Lorenzo’s name.”
A similar statement came from attorney Ruby Powers, who is representing Salgado, the shooting victim’s brother who was in the front passenger seat in the van at the time of the incident. “Our understanding is that this was granulated salt, which is paired with lemon and water as a homemade electrolyte mix used by outdoor workers in extreme Texas heat, not methamphetamine or any other illicit substance,” Powers said, adding that she’s asked the FBI to expedite testing.
Distrust of federal authorities has been rampant since Araujo was fatally shot by an ICE agent while driving his work crew to a home construction job at 6:50 a.m. July 7. The FBI said it would investigate the incident and confirmed that there was no body camera or dash cam footage. The feds have said that Araujo was not the intended target of their immigration sting but they claim he was uncooperative when they tried to pull him over in unmarked vehicles and that the shooting was in self-defense.
Following a public outcry, independent investigations were launched by Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare and the Texas Rangers.
A rally calling for the immediate release of the three men in ICE detention is scheduled for 2 p.m. Sunday, July 19, at Ervan Chew Park, 4502 Dunlavy, Houston.
