Boston Judge Holds ICE Agent in Contempt for Apprehending Illegal Immigrant During Criminal Trial

A Boston judge dismissed a criminal case against a migrant here in the United States illegally, citing prosecutorial misconduct after Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents detained him during his criminal trial. The judge also held the arresting ICE agent in contempt of court for “egregious misconduct.”

Wilson Martell-Lebron, a Dominican national, appeared in court last Thursday on charges for having provided false information on a license application, but when he left Boston’s Edward W. Brooke Courthouse, he was detained by ICE agents and placed in an unmarked SUV. Boston Municipal Court Judge Mark Summerville accused the agents of “obstructing justice,” adding that ICE agent Brian Sullivan “conspired in a premeditated manner” to take Martell-Lebron into custody, per Boston 25 News. Summerville even charged that Sullivan “intentionally” and “egregiously” Martell-Lebron’s rights under the 6th and 14th amendments of the U.S. Constitution.

“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.”

Summerville left the matter to the Suffolk District Attorney’s Office on whether the ICE agent would face charges. He also dismissed the case against Martell-Lebron for alleged prosecutorial misconduct.

“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.”

“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 added. “I find that ICE Agent Brian Sullivan was a member of the prosecution team.”

The DA’s office said that it did not coordinate with ICE and were “dismayed and surprised” by the 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.”

“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,” it added. “Federal authorities should not have detained him and interfered with our efforts to hold him accountable.”

Paul Roland Bois directed the award-winning Christian tech thriller, EXEMPLUM, which has a 100% Rotten Tomatoes critic rating and can be viewed for FREE on YouTube, Tubi, or Fawesome TV. “Better than Killers of the Flower Moon,” wrote Mark Judge. “You haven’t seen a story like this before,” wrote Christian Toto. A high-quality, ad-free rental can also be streamed on Google Play, Vimeo on Demand, or YouTube Movies. Follow him on X @prolandfilms or Instagram @prolandfilms.