HOUSTON — A substance investigators found in a van driven by a man fatally shot by ICE earlier this month was not an illegal narcotic, the Harris County District Attorney’s office said Friday.Subscribe to read this story ad-freeGet unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, a 51-year-old father of three, was fatally shot by an ICE law enforcement officer during a July 7 traffic stop the agency said turned life-threatening.The government has alleged he weaponized the vehicle, but that argument has been disputed by others in the van.After the fatal shooting, an FBI agent said small bags consistent with drug packaging that contained a substance resembling methamphetamine could be seen in plain view inside the vehicle.
The bureau obtained a search warrant, allowing agents to search the van.The Harris County District Attorney’s Office said Friday on X that the seized substance “tested negative for narcotics/ illicit drugs.” It said it would not comment further on the results, citing the pending investigation.
“We have notified Salgado Araujo’s family because we felt they had the right to know,” the DA’s office said.David Donatti, senior staff attorney at the ACLU of Texas, said in a statement Friday that Salgado Araujo was a “hardworking man” who built houses for Texas families.“The government has demonstrated that it is more interested in creating a false narrative than in seeking the truth,” he said of the search warrant.
“The Salgados deserve real answers about what happened.”Ruby L.Powers, a lawyer who represents Victor Salgado Araujo, Salgado Araujo’s brother who was taken into custody following the shooting, said previously that the substance was believed to be “granulated salt, which is paired with lemon and water as a homemade electrolyte mix used by outdoor workers in extreme Texas heat.”Powers said Friday that full lab results expected next week will confirm what the substance was....