Lorenzo Salgado Araujo drugs test found no narcotics, Texas DA says

The Lorenzo Salgado Araujo drugs claim that followed his fatal shooting by an ICE officer in Houston has been undercut by new testing, according to the Harris County District Attorney’s Office.

Prosecutors said Friday that a substance taken from the van Salgado Araujo was driving on July 7 “tested negative for narcotics/ illicit drugs.” The office said it told Salgado Araujo’s family about the result and would not say more because the investigation remains open.

Salgado Araujo, 51, a father of three, was shot during an ICE traffic stop that the agency has described as life-threatening. The Department of Homeland Security has said he tried to avoid arrest and attempted to ram ICE personnel before an officer fired in self-defense. Lawyers for people in the van have disputed that account.

Were drugs found in Lorenzo Salgado Araujo's van?

The Harris County District Attorney’s Office said the substance seized from the van tested negative for illegal drugs. An FBI agent had earlier said small bags resembling drug packaging and containing a substance that looked like methamphetamine were visible in the vehicle, according to the search warrant application.

The FBI obtained a warrant to search the van after the shooting. Prosecutors did not identify the substance in their Friday statement, and the office said it would not comment further on the findings while the case is pending.

Ruby L. Powers, who represents Victor Salgado Araujo, Lorenzo’s brother, previously said the substance was believed to be granulated salt mixed with lemon and water as a homemade electrolyte drink for outdoor workers in extreme Texas heat. Powers said Friday that more complete lab results expected next week would confirm what the material was.

Powers said an untested claim had already caused harm by shifting attention away from the shooting. The FBI said it had no comment. ICE referred questions to the Department of Homeland Security, which did not immediately respond, according to NBC News.

Family and lawyers challenge the ICE account

The testing result came the same day the Congressional Hispanic Caucus held a hearing in Houston on the shooting. Rep. Bennie Thompson, the ranking Democrat on the House Homeland Security Committee, also attended.

Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare said at the hearing that drug involvement would have been out of character for the people in the van. He also said he had not seen a search warrant request unsealed the day it was signed in his 20 years.

Lorenzo Salgado Jr., one of Salgado Araujo’s sons, told the hearing that his family had been grieving while federal officials shifted their public account. He said DHS first said ICE had targeted his father, then acknowledged he was not the intended target. He also said the men in the van dispute the claim that Salgado Araujo weaponized the vehicle.

Lawyer Hugo Balderas-Ibarra, who represents two other men who were in the van, said Friday that any suggestion Salgado Araujo was connected to drugs was absurd. He has also said Salgado Araujo did not try to hurt law enforcement.

DHS has said ICE was looking for a specific target during the stop. Rep. Sylvia Garcia has said, citing her communication with ICE’s acting director, that Salgado Araujo was not that person.

Lawyers involved in the case have said Salgado Araujo was driving himself and three others to a construction job when the stop happened. His family has said he had lived in the United States for more than three decades and was applying for legal status.

DHS has said ICE personnel at the scene did not have body cameras. Any security or cellphone video of the confrontation, if it exists, has not been released. The officer who fired the fatal shot has not been publicly named, and the shooting remains under investigation.

This story draws on original reporting from NBC News.