The man who was shot and wounded by a Border Patrol agent during an immigration stop in Portland, Oregon, last week has pleaded not guilty to aggravated assault of a federal employee and destruction of federal property.
Portland, Ore.– man Shot and wounded A Border Patrol agent during an immigration stop in Portland, Oregon, last week pleaded not guilty Wednesday to charges of aggravated assault of a federal employee and destruction of federal property.
Luis’ public defender David Nino Moncada filed the petition on his behalf during a hearing in U.S. District Court. He was charged on Tuesday and remains in custody, with a release hearing scheduled for next week. US District Judge Stacey Beckerman set a five-day jury trial for March.
The shooting, which came one day after a federal agent A driver was shot and killed in Minneapolissparked protests Concerning the aggressive tactics of federal agents During immigration enforcement operations.
The FBI said in a lawsuit No other surveillance or video was found From the shooting, in which a Border Patrol agent shot and wounded Nino Moncada and passenger Yorlenis Betzabeth Zambrano Contreras while they were in a pickup truck in the parking lot of a medical complex. The Department of Homeland Security said the two individuals entered the United States illegally and were members of the Venezuelan Tren de Aragua gang.
Portland Police Chief Bob Day confirmed last week that the couple had “some connection” to the gang. He said the two came to the attention of police during an investigation into a July shooting believed to have been carried out by gang members, but they were not identified as suspects.
Zambrano-Contreras had previously been arrested on prostitution charges, and Nino-Moncada was present when a search warrant was issued in that case, Day said.
Border Patrol agents told investigators that one of their colleagues opened fire after Nino Moncada reversed the truck and repeatedly rammed an unoccupied car the agents had rented, shattering its headlights and smashing its front bumper.
FBI Special Agent Daniel Jeffries wrote in an affidavit supporting accusations that Nino Moncada used the car as a weapon. The document said the agents feared for their safety and the safety of the public.
Zambrano-Contreras was detained Wednesday at a private immigration detention facility in Tacoma, Washington, according to an online detainer locator system run by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. She faces a charge of illegal entry into the United States, which federal prosecutors in Texas filed last week. The Office of the Federal U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Texas did not respond to a request for comment.