Substance found in work van of Mexican man killed by ICE tested negative for drugs, prosecutor says - CBS News

What the report says

CBS News reported that a substance recovered from the work van of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, a Mexican construction worker fatally shot by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent in Houston, tested negative for narcotics or other illicit drugs. The update was announced Friday by the office of Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare, which said it had informed Salgado Araujo’s family but would not release additional details because its investigation remains active.

The finding undercuts an earlier federal assertion tied to the July 7 shooting. According to CBS, an FBI affidavit filed about a week after Salgado Araujo was killed said agents suspected the van contained methamphetamine, citing photos of small bags holding a white crystalline material. ICE has said Salgado Araujo used the vehicle as a weapon during an attempted traffic stop and that the agent fired in self-defense. Other men in the van, who remain in ICE custody, have challenged that account.

Representatives for Salgado Araujo’s family had said the material was likely granulated salt used by construction workers in a homemade electrolyte drink for summer heat. The FBI declined to comment on the test result, CBS reported. David Donatti of the ACLU of Texas, which represents the family, criticized the federal government’s handling of the case.

The shooting is being reviewed by the FBI and ICE’s internal oversight office, while Teare’s office is conducting a separate inquiry. Teare told CBS he would be prepared to prosecute ICE agents if evidence supports criminal wrongdoing. CBS reported that ICE says Salgado Araujo was in the U.S. unlawfully but has not disputed that he had no criminal record.