An attorney for one of the illegal immigrants accused of murdering a 12-year-old Texas girl is seeking a protective order against negative media coverage of the case.
In applying for a protection order, Obtained According to Fox News, a lawyer for Franklin Jose Peña Ramos, 26, one of two men charged with strangling Jocelyn Nungaray and dumping her body in a creek, argued that “extrajudicial statements” made to the media would likely “result in unfair prejudice.”
“Additional out-of-court statements to the press could have the effect of causing unfair prejudice to the community and depriving the defendants of a fair trial as guaranteed by Article I of the Texas Constitution and the Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution,” the lawyers wrote in the motion, according to the media outlet.
The document quotes Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg as saying: “[M]”Make no mistake, this is a horrific crime,” and “our immigration system is not working,” lawyers for Peña Ramos said, according to Fox News.
According to the outlet, Peña Ramos' lawyers argued in the filing that Ogg “made statements about the case on multiple occasions that went beyond what the prosecutors stated during the probable cause hearing.”
NEWS: Suspect accused of murdering 12-year-old Jocelyn Nungarei is trying to keep the case out of media spotlight
Lawyers for Franklin Jose Peña Ramos are seeking a protective order to block Houston authorities from making “out-of-court statements” or releasing any public information… pic.twitter.com/nPCImRRqmr
— Unlimited L (@unlimited_ls) August 27, 2024
In June, Peña Ramos and Johan Jose Martinez Rangel, 21, were arrested by Houston police and charged with murder in Nungaray's death.
As Breitbart News previously reported, on June 16, Nungaray was seen on surveillance video sneaking out of his apartment and at a 7-Eleven with Peña Ramos and Martinez Rangel “just after midnight.”
On the night of June 16, Jocelyn snuck out of her apartment after her mother went to bed. Her boyfriend was the last person to speak to the girl. Shortly after midnight, Jocelyn was seen on surveillance video at the 7-Eleven with Martinez and Ramos.
Police said the three men are suspected of leaving the 7-Eleven, going to a nearby bridge and strangling Nungarei to death between 1 and 2 a.m., then leaving her body in a stream.
As Breitbart News previously reported, Harris County prosecutors presented evidence in court in June that showed Peña Ramos and Martinez Rangel had allegedly walked Nungaray to the bridge after leaving the 7-Eleven.
Once on the bridge, Martinez-Rangel allegedly grabbed Nungaray around the neck, “got on top of her” and covered her mouth, and the men also allegedly removed Nungaray's clothes, leaving her naked from the waist down.
Both men, both Venezuelan nationals, were apprehended at the southern border and released into the United States on National Tourist Orders to Appear (NTA).
Last Thursday, Jocelyn's mother, Alexis Nungaray, joined former President Donald Trump at the US-Mexico border in Arizona to stress the importance of border control.
“My son is always calling for his sister, but I have to live the rest of my life. I really, really, really want people to think about how important border control is,” Alexis Nungarei said. explanation.
