‘Egregious conduct’: Boston judge finds ICE agent in contempt of court after man detained mid-trial
A Boston judge on Monday dismissed the criminal case against a man who was detained mid-trial by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, finding a federal agent involved in the arrest in contempt of court over “egregious conduct.”
Wilson Martell-Lebron appeared Thursday in Boston’s Edward W. Brooke Courthouse for the first day of his trial on charges that he provided false information on a license application.
Defense attorney Murat Erkan told the newspaper that plainclothes ICE agents detained Martell-Lebron as he left the court, placed him in an unmarked SUV, and drove away.
Video shared with Boston 25 News showed the moments after Martell-Lebron was taken into custody.
On Monday, Boston Municipal Court Judge Mark Summerville accused ICE of “obstructing justice.” He also found that ICE agent Brian Sullivan “conspired in a premeditated manner” to take Martell-Lebron into custody and not return him to court.
Summerville alleged that Sullivan “intentionally” and “egregiously” violated the rights of Martell-Lebron that are protected by the 6th and 14th amendments of the U.S. Constitution, finding him in contempt of court.
“I find that this court cannot trust ICE to return the defendant back to court. I don’t find that they’re credible,” Summerville said. “I have no confidence in ICE, no matter what they told the Commonwealth, that they would ever bring this defendant into court.”
In finding Sullivan in contempt of court, Summerville referred the matter to the Suffolk District Attorney’s Office and left it up to the DA’s office to determine whether Sullivan would face charges.
“We’ll see how serious the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office takes this egregious conduct, and what they do with it, and whether any investigation does go forward, and whether any prosecution goes forward,” Summerville said. “It’s out of my hands now.”
Summerville also dismissed the case against Martell-Lebron, citing prosecutorial misconduct.
“I believe that this case is necessary to deter this type of misconduct in the future and to deter this type of misconduct from the Commonwealth team, the prosecution team,” Summerville stated. “I find that ICE Agent Brian Sullivan was a member of the prosecution team.”
In a statement, the DA’s office said it was “dismayed and surprised” to learn of Martell-Lebron’s detainment.
“We have been instrumental to Boston becoming one of the safest cities in the nation by pursuing ethical prosecutions that hold offenders accountable and treat victims with dignity,” the DA’s office said. “We were dismayed and surprised when our prosecution of Wilson Martell-Lebron was interrupted by ICE apprehending him in the middle of our case.”
The DA’s office said it contacted ICE as soon as it learned about Martell-Lebron’s detention and filed a motion requesting that the court demand his appearance at trial.
“Any claim that we were aware of an attempt to prevent Mr. Martell Lebron from exercising his right to a trial is false. It was and still is our intention to try Mr. Martell-Lebron and hold him accountable for the crimes alleged in the complaint,” the DA’s office explained. “Federal authorities should not have detained him and interfered with our efforts to hold him accountable.”
After Summerville’s comments in court, James Borghesani of the Suffolk District Attorney’s Office told reporters that prosecutors were unaware that ICE planned to arrest Martell-Lebron.
“Any accusation that we participated in any misconduct or any operation to remove the defendant is false and reckless,” Borghesani said. “It’s a different world now with this extraordinary exposure with ICE.”
Borghesani also confirmed that the DA’s office would take Summerville’s request to investigate agent Sullivan “seriously.”
The Massachusetts State Police released the following statement about the detainment:
“Last week, two State Troopers testifying as part of their duties in a criminal trial in Boston Municipal Court became aware of federal officials’ intention to detain the defendant during the proceeding. As in any situation where a member becomes aware of federal immigration enforcement, the Troopers responded appropriately by neither assisting nor obstructing the federal action. Participating in such a mission or sharing information about it would be contrary to the Department’s longstanding approach across several state and federal Administrations to these complex situations, which prohibits Troopers from participating in a mission solely to facilitate detention or deportation. Our focus remains on working collaboratively with our local, state, and federal partners to prevent, deter, and respond to violations of state criminal law for the safety of everyone who lives, works, studies, and visits Massachusetts.”
Boston 25 News has reached out to ICE for comment on the matter.
The detainment of Martell-Lebron comes just days after six federal agents, with their faces covered, approached Tufts University graduate student Rumeysa Ozturk on a Somerville street, took her into custody, and rushed her to an ICE Processing Center in Basile, Louisiana.
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