Local News

Boston judge holds ICE agent in contempt after man detained mid-trial

The judge dismissed the case due to prosecutorial misconduct after ICE detained Wilson Martell-Lebron on the first day of his trial.

Boston Municipal Court Judge Mark Summerville addresses the assistant district attorneys as he accuses Immigration and Customs Enforcement of “obstructing justice." Pat Greenhouse/ The Boston Globe

By Molly Farrar

March 31, 2025

3 minutes to read

A man facing criminal charges in Boston was detained in the middle of his trial last week by federal immigration agents, prompting the judge to hold the ICE agent in contempt and dismiss the case.

Wilson Martell-Lebron was facing two felony charges from 2020 related to filing a false application for a driver’s license. After some COVID-related delays, his jury trial began last Thursday, according to court records. Court records note that Martell-Lebron was present, with a Spanish interpreter, on Thursday, but did not appear on Friday.

The Boston Globe first reported that Martell-Lebron was detained by ICE agents late Thursday afternoon. Plainclothes ICE agents placed Martell-Lebron in an unmarked van and drove away, according to a video shared by Martell-Lebron’s defense attorneys with multiple news organizations.

Judge Mark Summerville held ICE agent Brian Sullivan in contempt Monday for allegedly obstructing justice, the Globe reported. ICE Agent Sullivan, Steven Wells, and any other agent involved in the arrest were ordered Friday to appear for an evidentiary hearing, and a bench warrant was issued for Sullivan.

ICE alleges that Martell-Lebron is really named Juan Carlos Baez and is originally from the Dominican Republic. He allegedly entered the U.S. illegally in 2000, ICE said.

An ICE spokesperson confirmed that agents apprehended Martell-Lebron outside the court house on Thursday.

“Officers with ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Boston field office apprehended Juan Carlos Baez (aka Wilson Martell-Lebron), a 49-year-old, illegally present Dominican national with prior drug trafficking convictions, after he departed the Boston Municipal Court,” the spokesperson said.

Martell-Lebron was found guilty of two counts of trafficking cocaine and one count of trafficking heroin in Middlesex Superior Court in 2009, court documents show. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison after already serving a little less than two years while awaiting trial.

The Massachusetts Department of Correction confirmed that he was released in 2020.

Judge calls prosecutors to testify if they knew that ICE was coming to ‘grab’ Martell-Lebron

State Police Trooper David Dumont testified Friday, and, according to the Globe, told the judge that “it was more or less understood” that ICE was sending someone to “grab the defendant.” Massachusetts State Police confirmed in a statement that troopers knew ICE intended to detain Martell-Lebron during the proceeding.

“As in any situation where a member becomes aware of federal immigration enforcement, the Troopers responded appropriately by neither assisting nor obstructing the federal action,” a spokesperson said.

Another trooper testified that Sullivan had emailed prosecutor Jack Lucy about the plan to detain Martell-Lebron, while the DA’s office said that its prosecutors were not made aware.

“Our position is that this is obstructing justice,” defense attorney Murat Erkan said, according to the Globe. He did not return a request for comment Monday evening.

DA: ‘Federal authorities should not have detained him’

The judge demanded answers from prosecutors on Monday, even calling some to the stand, which is rare. Lucy testified Monday, saying he communicated with ICE but didn’t know the timing of the arrest, the Globe reported.

Another lawyer appeared on the behalf of Suffolk County Assistant District Attorney Matthew Liber, who was subpoenaed to testify. His attorney filed a motion to keep him off the stand.

“The defense motion proposes a fishing expedition in hopes of fabricating a conspiracy between ICE agents and every member of the Commonwealth’s prosecution team,” the motion read.

Special ADA Jack Lucy, with the Suffolk District Attorney’s office, is sworn in.

James Borghesani, a spokesperson for the Suffolk County DA, said in a statement that they were “dismayed and surprised” when Martell-Lebron was detained. He said their office asked ICE to return Martell-Lebron.

“Any claim that we were aware of an attempt to prevent Mr. Martell-Lebron from exercising his right to a trial is false,” Borghesani said on Friday. “It was our intention to try Mr. Martell-Lebron and hold him accountable for the crimes alleged in the complaint. Federal authorities should not have detained him and interfered with our efforts to hold him accountable.”

After dismissing the jurors, Summerville also permanently dismissed the Suffolk County District Attorney’s case against Martell-Lebron due to prosecutorial misconduct.

This story has been updated to include a comment from ICE and the Department of Correction.