Man acquitted in Bovino murder-for-hire plot denied bail amid deportation proceedings
An immigration judge has denied bail to a Chicago man who was recently cleared of charges accusing him of offering $10,000 for the murder of Border Patrol Cmdr. Gregory Bovino, meaning Juan Espinoza Martinez will stay behind bars as the federal government moves to deport him.
Despite a jury finding Martinez not guilty of one count of murder for hire, attorneys for the Department of Homeland Security argued he was a danger to the community, and an immigration judge in Chicago agreed on Wednesday to keep him in custody.
A federal judge in Indiana, where Martinez is being held, had ordered he receive a bond hearing or be released from custody, resulting in Wednesday's proceeding.
Martinez's attorney, Sussethe Renteria, said she will consider a possible appeal of the immigration judge's ruling.
"While we respect the court's decision, we are disappointed with the outcome. My client has the right to appeal and we will explore those options," she said. "He has the unwavering support of his community and his family, and has three children and a wife desperate for him to come home. We are confident that justice will be served."
Martinez was taken into the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement shortly after he was acquitted in his criminal trial last month as the Trump administration moved to deport him, accusing him of being in the country illegally. He's now being held in a jail in southern Indiana.
Federal prosecutors have accused Espinoza Martinez of offering a $10,000 bounty for the murder of Bovino, who was the face of the Trump administration's immigration enforcement effort in the Chicago area last year. A jury took about three hours to acquit him following his trial last month.
After his arrest, federal authorities accused him of being a high-ranking Latin Kings gang member, but no such evidence was ever presented in court, and his attorneys have said he has no gang ties and no criminal history.
