The FBI filed a search warrant application for the van driven by Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, a father of three who was killed by ICE during a traffic stop in Texas last week, saying an agent found small bags in the vehicle he believed could contain drugs.But the attorney for the Salgado Araujo family said Thursday the substance was salt that outdoor workers mixed with lemon and water to combat the Texas heat.Subscribe to read this story ad-freeGet unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.The FBI declined to comment to NBC News on whether the agency has executed the search warrant and whether any of the seized items tested positive for illegal drugs.
“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,” attorney Ruby L.Powers, who represents Salgado Araujo’s brother, who was taken into custody following the shooting, said in a statement.
“A search warrant does not equate to guilt,” Powers said.“An unidentified substance is not a confirmed narcotic.”Powers said she was requesting that the substance be tested immediately “so that their names can be cleared.” She is also calling for Salgado Araujo’s brother to be released from ICE custody.The top prosecutor in Houston and a group advocating for the man’s family have also criticized the FBI’s unusual move, saying they do not believe there were drugs in the car and the search warrant does not change the facts of the fatal shooting.
Salgado Araujo was in the van with three others last Tuesday morning en route to a construction jobsite in Houston when ICE agents stopped the vehicle.Salgado Araujo was not the intended target of the immigration agents, the Department of Homeland Security told NBC News.
The agents attempted to arrest him and shot Salgado Araujo in the abdomen, killing him.Add NBC News to GoogleDeadly shoo...