Lorenzo Salgado Araujo shot and killed by ICE agent in Houston, authorities confirm: Live updates

A federal judge has ordered the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to halt the deportation of a witness in the deadly shooting of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo by ICE agents in Houston's East End, according to court documents.

On Tuesday, the judge issued the ruling for Jose Trinidad Rojas Pliego, a passenger in Salgado Araujo's van at the time of the shooting on July 7, after his attorney filed a petition asking for his release, court documents revealed.

According to court documents, the order said Rojas Pliego cannot be deported or transferred to an ICE facility outside the Southern District of Texas, while the petition is pending, without the court's permission.

Rojas Pliego's attorney sent a statement that read in part:

"We are pleased with the Stay grant. The judge has made the right decision following the law, our clients are cooperating with the authorities and we trust that they will be released soon and reunited with their families after this traumatic ordeal."

Read full story here.

After a man was killed by ICE agents in Houston, Harris County is conducting its own investigation and turning to Minneapolis for guidance.

Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said when she heard Lorenzo Salgado Araujo was shot and killed by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Houston on July 7, her heart sank.

After navigating how to investigate the deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, who were both killed by ICE agents in Minneapolis in separate incidents six months ago, Moriarty said she knew what Harris County prosecutors would be up against in their own investigation.

Moriarty said after Good was killed on January 7, she was on a call with federal and state investigators - something she said is typical in these types of incidents where they conduct joint investigations.

Soon, she said she learned the collaborative efforts she had been used to with federal partners were going to be different for the deaths of Good and later Pretti.

"The federal government took Renee Good's car and the gun that was involved and took that evidence away, would not share it with us," Moriarty said.

She said the county did several things it had never done before, including opening up a public portal to solicit video and evidence from the public. She said they received more than 1,000 submissions related to the deaths of Good and Pretti.

They also filed a lawsuit against the federal government to preserve evidence.

"We are really building the plane as we are flying it because much of this was new to us, and so it was a lot of creative problem solving as we went along," Moriarty said.

Six months after the shootings, Moriarty was finally able to get evidence after the federal government had been refusing to turn it over.

Amid that victory for her prosecutors, Moriarty said she's been in contact with Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare as he navigates a similar issue of lack of evidence from federal agencies related to Salgado Araujo's death last week in Houston.

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People from across the Houston area paid their respects to Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, who was fatally shot by an ICE agent last week.

More than a week after Lorenzo Salgado Araujo's shooting death involving an ICE agent, people from across the Houston area gathered to pay their respects.

A public viewing was held Thursday at the Forest Park Lawndale Funeral Home.

"You have seen the photographs - you have seen his family through the media, but it's very different being up close, and the emotions just overwhelm you," Dayana Iza, who attended the memorial, told ABC13.

"It's very emotional to see him. It's been emotional since it started," Gina Danielsen added.

On the same day, a top federal prosecutor made his first public comments on the shooting and released the timeline of events his office has been provided with.

Read that full report here.

The Texas Rangers also announced their own investigation into the shooting on Thursday. Their former chief, Chance Collins, said it could take months to piece together all of the evidence.

After the Federal Bureau of Investigation had filed to obtain a search warrant to look through 52-year-old Lorenzo Salgado Araujo's van, the family confirmed that the substance that officials claimed they found was a homemade electrolyte drink mix, their attorney says.

An FBI special agent said he "inspected the vehicle and observed in plain view several plastic bags with what appeared to be white crystal-like substances packaged in small plastic bags," according to a search warrant filed July 14. The warrant stated that "searches of the target vehicle will yield evidence of the crimes committed and violations of drug offenses."

Just one day after the filing, the family of Araujo confirmed through their attorney, Ruby Powers, that the substances were not drugs but a drink mixture.

"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," Powers said in an official statement.

Powers also said they are requesting immediate testing of the substance to clear Araujo's name, in addition to a request for Araujo's brother, Victor, to be released from ICE custody.