More defendants arrested in connection with the July 4 shooting at a North Texas immigration detention center will face additional charges — if they don’t accept the government’s plea deals, according to a filing in the court case this week.
Two defendants — Zachary Evetts, 36, and Autumn Hill, 30 — were already set for trial Nov. 24 for their alleged roles in the shooting at the Prairieland Detention Center in Alvarado that injured a local police officer. Indicted together, they face one terrorism-related charge as well as charges of attempted murder of federal officers and discharging a firearm during, in relation to and in furtherance of a crime of violence.
But in a motion filed Monday, prosecutors moved to delay the trial date, not only because the case is complex, but because the government has offered plea bargains to the 15 defendants who made their initial appearances in Fort Worth federal court Sept. 23, according to the filing.
While prosecutors expect most to accept the deals, those who don’t will join Evetts and Hill with more charges added on.
“For those defendants with whom the government cannot reach agreement, the government intends to supersede the current indictment adding those defendants into the [existing] indictment as well as additional charges,” the motion states. “This will increase the number of defendants in that indictment and add to the complexity of the case.”
U.S. District Judge Mark Pittman granted the motion Tuesday.
Leigh Davis, an attorney for defendant Ines Soto, said in an email he does not expect his client to accept the government’s plea offer but doesn't yet know for sure. KERA News has reached out to the other defendants’ attorneys and will update this story with any response.
Offering less-severe charges in exchange for a guilty plea is common in cases with multiple defendants, said Leigha Simonton, former U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas. In addition to reduced charges, a defendant can also get a lower sentence by cooperating with the government, she said.
"The more defendants who plead guilty, the more pressure that puts on the other defendants to plead because they are looking at all of the cooperating defendants potentially testifying against them at trial," Simonton said.
Eighteen people have been arrested in connection with the shooting. They face a mix of state and federal charges.
There have been four federal indictments so far. Three people face terrorism-related charges, but none who have been indicted so far are accused of being the person who fired at the Alvarado police officer and two contract detention officers.
Former Marine Corps reservist Benjamin Song, who both prosecutors and other defendants have pointed to as the alleged shooter, has not been indicted.
Defendants, their attorneys and supporters say they were protesting President Donald Trump's immigration policies when they gathered outside the detention center, and that not everyone intended violence.
The charges of providing material support to terrorism stem from Trump's designation of antifa as a domestic terrorist organization. The validity of that designation has been questioned, in part, because antifa refers to anti-fascist beliefs and is not a centralized group.
Toluwani Osibamowo is KERA’s law and justice reporter. Got a tip? Email Toluwani at tosibamowo@kera.org.
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