The FBI is currently investigating whether illegal drugs were inside a cargo van involved in a fatal shooting earlier this month. The inquiry follows the death of 52-year-old Mexican national Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, who was killed by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer during a traffic stop in Houston on the morning of July 7. Family members and coworkers stated that Salgado Araujo was on his way to work when the incident occurred.
A sealed search warrant application, filed on July 14 by FBI Special Agent David McNeilly, sought authorization to search the white Ford van. Federal Magistrate Judge Richard Bennett of Texas granted the warrant the same day. While the application appeared in the federal case docket on July 15, court records did not indicate that the document was required to be unsealed.
In his application for the search warrant, McNeilly, a former Houston police officer, stated that he observed several small plastic bags containing a white crystal-like substance in "plain view" while at the scene. He noted that three bags were located on the middle of the dashboard and one was found on the passenger floorboard, adding that he believed the contents were consistent with methamphetamine. It remains unclear if the substance has undergone official testing.
The Department of Homeland Security previously stated that the traffic stop was initiated because officers mistook Salgado Araujo for another individual, noting that the stop was not based on anything found in his vehicle. During the encounter, federal officials alleged that Salgado Araujo attempted to use his vehicle as a weapon to run over an officer. This account is disputed by the three men who were in the van with him at the time of the shooting; they claim he posed no threat and that the ICE officer fired at him from the side of the vehicle. All three men are currently being detained.
Although federal officials announced earlier this year that ICE would be fully equipped with body cameras backed by $20 million in funding, the officers involved in this incident were not wearing them. The Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General is currently conducting an investigation into the shooting. The FBI’s Evidence Response Team photographed the interior of the van, though the warrant application indicated that law enforcement had not yet entered or searched the vehicle at that time. Representatives from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas stated they had no additional information to provide, while the Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
