Plea in federal court
Luis David Nino-Moncada pleaded not guilty in U.S. District Court to charges of aggravated assault on a federal employee and damaging federal property, according to court proceedings reported by the Associated Press.
Nino-Moncada’s public defender entered the plea on his behalf during a hearing on Wednesday, when Nino-Moncada remained in custody. The reporting said a release hearing is scheduled for next week.
Trial set for March
U.S. Magistrate Judge Stacie Beckerman set a five-day jury trial for March, the AP reported.
Nino-Moncada had been indicted on the charges on Tuesday, the report said.
FBI filing says no surveillance or video found
The case follows a shooting during an immigration stop in Portland, Oregon, last week that left Nino-Moncada wounded. The AP reported that the FBI told the court, in a filing, that it had found no surveillance or other video of the shooting.
In the reported account, the FBI said a Border Patrol agent shot and wounded Nino-Moncada and a passenger, Yorlenys Betzabeth Zambrano-Contreras, while they were in a pickup truck in the parking lot of a medical complex.
Homeland Security links case to Tren de Aragua
The AP report said the Department of Homeland Security has said the two people entered the U.S. illegally and were affiliated with the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua.
Portland Police Chief Bob Day confirmed that the pair had “some nexus” to the gang, the report said. Day also told AP that the pair came to police attention during an investigation of a July shooting believed to have been carried out by gang members, but that they were not identified as suspects in that investigation.
The AP reported that Day said Zambrano-Contreras had previously been arrested for prostitution and that Nino-Moncada was present when a search warrant was served in that matter.
What agents say happened before the shooting
Border Patrol agents told investigators that a colleague opened fire after Nino-Moncada put the truck in reverse and repeatedly slammed into an unoccupied car the agents had rented, according to the AP report.
The reporting said agents told investigators the collisions smashed the car’s headlights and knocked off its front bumper, and that agents feared for their own safety and that of the public.
An affidavit supporting the charges, written by FBI Special Agent Daniel Jeffreys, said Nino-Moncada used the vehicle as a weapon, the AP reported.
Detention status for Zambrano-Contreras
The AP report said Zambrano-Contreras was being held Wednesday at a private immigration detention facility in Tacoma, Washington. The reporting said the location was indicated by an online detainee locator system maintained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The report also said Zambrano-Contreras faces a charge of illegal entry into the U.S., filed by federal prosecutors in Texas last week. The federal public defender’s office for the Western District of Texas did not respond to a request for comment, AP reported.