ALVARADO, Texas – Six women charged for their roles in the shooting of an Alvarado police officer faced a federal judge on Monday.
The officer was responding to a vandalism call at the ICE detention center when federal prosecutors said he was ambushed. Thankfully, he survived.
Alvarado ICE Detention Center Ambush
What’s new:
On Monday, six women were arraigned on charges connected to the ambush-style shooting of an Alvardo police officer at the Prairieland Detention Center on July 4.
They include Savanna Batten, Joy Gibson, Maricela Rueda, Elizabeth Soto, Lynette Sharp, and Rebecca Morgan.
The backstory:
In all, at least 16 people have been charged in the case.
According to the federal complaint, several of the defendants were dressed in black, military-style clothing.
The complaint states that the protestors began shooting fireworks at the detention center. Two people broke off from the main group and began to spray graffiti on vehicles and a guard structure.
Officials believe it was all a ploy to draw ICE detention officers out of the building. Instead, the correctional officers called 911 to report the vandalism.
When the Alvarado police officer arrived, a defendant positioned in the woods shot the officer in the neck. Another assailant across the street fired 20 to 30 rounds at unarmed correctional officers.
Investigators found AR-style rifles at the scene, two-way radios, and a total of 12 sets of body armor after searching the scene and the defendants’ cars.
The complaint said the shooters ran away, but law enforcement officers stopped them.
One attacker had cellphones inside a type of bag that blocks cellphone signals.
The complaint called the attack a conspiracy.
What they’re saying:
The six defendants’ supporters strongly dispute the conspiracy claim.
They argue the women were there to attend what they thought would be a peaceful protest.
They did not want to make any official statements after Monday’s arraignment but questioned why the hearings were taking place 11 weeks after the arrests.
The court-appointed attorney for the women also did not want to make any statements yet on what happened.
The attorney said the time was not unusual, given that both state and federal agencies are involved.
What’s next:
Additional defendants will be arraigned on Tuesday.
The Source: FOX 4’s Lori Brown attended Monday’s court hearing to gather details for this story.