Attorneys for one of the illegal migrants who is accused of killing a 12-year-old Texas girl are seeking a protective order against negative media attention in the case.
In the protective order filing, which was obtained by Fox News, attorneys for Franklin Jose Pena Ramos, 26, one of the two men who have been charged with strangling Jocelyn Nungaray and leaving her dead in a creek, argued that “extra-judicial statements” that are made to the press would probably “produce a result of undue prejudice.”
“The additional extra-judicial statements to the news media are likely to produce a result of undue prejudice in the community to deprive the Defendant of a fair trial guaranteed by Article I of the Texas Constitution and the Sixth and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution,” the attorney’s wrote in the motion, according to the outlet.
In the documents, statements made by Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg, such as, “[M]make no mistake, this is a horrific crime,” and “the immigration system is broken,” were referenced by attorneys for Pena Ramos, according to Fox News.
Pena Ramos’s attorney claimed in the filing that Ogg had “made numerous statements about the case that went beyond the statements of the prosecutor during the probable cause hearing,” according to the outlet.
NEW: Illegal accused of killing 12-year-old Jocelyn Nungaray is trying to keep the story out of the media spotlight
Franklin Jose Peña Ramos’ lawyer is seeking a protective order to stop Houston officials from making “extrajudicial statements” or releasing any public information… pic.twitter.com/nPCImRRqmr
— Unlimited L’s (@unlimited_ls) August 27, 2024
In June, Pena Ramos and Johan Jose Martinez-Rangel, 21, were arrested and charged with capital murder by the Houston Police Department regarding Nungaray’s death.
As Breitbart News has previously reported, on June 16, Nungaray snuck out of her apartment, and “shortly after midnight,” she was observed on surveillance cameras with Pena Ramos and Martinez-Rangel at a 7/11:
On the night of June 16, Jocelyn snuck out of her apartment building after her mother went to sleep. Jocelyn’s boyfriend is the last person to have spoken to the girl. Shortly after midnight, Jocelyn can be seen on surveillance cameras at a 7/11 convenience store alongside Martinez and Ramos.
Law enforcement officials explained that after leaving the 7/11 convenience store, the three of them ended up at a bridge nearby, and between 1:00 a.m. and 2:00 a.m., the men allegedly strangled Nungaray and left her body in a creek.
As Breitbart News has previously reported, prosecutors from Harris County showed evidence to the court in June that Pena Ramos and Martinez-Rangel had allegedly walked Nungaray to a bridge after leaving the 7/11 store.
Jocelyn Nungaray (GoFundMe)
While at the bridge, Martinez-Rangel allegedly took hold of Nungaray’s neck, “got on top of her,” and allegedly covered her mouth. The men also allegedly undressed Nungaray, leaving her naked from the waist down.
Both men, who are Venezuelan nationals, were apprehended at the southern border and released into the United States with a Notice to Appear (NTA).
Last Thursday, Alexis Nungaray, the mother of Jocelyn, joined former President Donald Trump at the U.S.-Mexico border in Arizona where she highlighted the importance of border control.
“I have to go through the rest of my life with my son always asking for his sister, and I just really, really, really want everybody to please take into consideration how important border control is,” Alexis Nungaray explained.