Judge temporarily halts deportation of Chicago man cleared of Bovino murder-for-hire plot
A federal judge in Indiana has temporarily barred the Trump administration from deporting a Chicago man who was found not guilty last month of offering $10,000 for the murder of U.S. Border Patrol Cmdr. Gregory Bovino.
Juan Espinoza Martinez has been in federal custody since his arrest on murder for hire charges in Cctober.
After a jury acquitted Espinoza Martinez last month, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement quickly took him into custody, and he's now being held at the Clay County Justice Center in southern Indiana.
Homeland Security officials have accused Espinoza Martinez of being in the country as an undocumented immigrant, but his attorneys have filed a petition challenging his detention.
A federal judge temporarily blocked the federal government from deporting him, ruling he's likely entitled to a bond hearing that could lead to his release.
The judge gave the Trump administration until Friday to file arguments on why Espinoza Martinez should not get a bond hearing. He gave Espinoza Martinez's attorneys until Monday to respond to the government's filing. It's unclear how soon the judge would rule after that.
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.
