The FBI sought a search warrant to seize plastic bags with “crystal-like substances” inside the van of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, who was fatally shot by an immigration agent last week. The FBI said it suspects methamphetamine, but the lawyer representing Salgao Araujo’s brother on Thursday said it was granulated salt.
“After consulting with my client and his family, 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,” said Ruby Powers, a Houston immigration attorney representing Victor Hugo Salgado Araujo, who was the front passenger inside the van.
Powers said in a statement on Thursday that she is asking the FBI to expedite the testing so “their names can be cleared.
“But no test result, whatever it ultimately shows, will change the fact that deadly force was used against Lorenzo,” Powers said. “You cannot shoot first and ask questions later.”
The FBI’s Houston office, which is investigating whether there was an assault on a federal law enforcement officer, didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
An application for an FBI search warrant alleged that there were “small clear plastic bags” in Salgado Araujo’s van containing white “crystal-like substances.” FBI Special Agent David McNeilly, who filed the application, then wrote that he believed the substances could be methamphetamine based on the packaging and appearance.
The application was made public a day after it was filed in court on Tuesday, even though federal agents don’t typically publicize such information that quickly. Court records on Thursday didn’t indicate that the FBI had revealed what was collected from the van, or whether testing had been completed.
Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare — whose office is running its own investigation into the shooting — has also expressed doubt about the FBI’s suspicions in an interview with CNN, citing information that he said his team has but is not yet releasing.
“But my understanding is that this substance is being tested by the FBI, either today or in the next few days, and I think it’s so important to the public that those results be shared immediately,” Teare said in the Thursday interview.
Lomi Kriel contributed to this story.
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