The wife of Johan Sebastián Duran Guerrero spoke publicly for the first time since her husband was shot and killed by a federal immigration agent in Biddeford on Monday, focusing her remarks on the relationship the 25-year-old had with their 3-year-old daughter.
Speaking at a press conference at The Lincoln Hotel in Biddeford, Martha Karolina Rojas Alvarez said “the dream he held closest was being a dad.” And when their daughter was born, “He always gave her whatever she wanted.”
Alvarez was accompanied by Guerrero’s sister, Daniela Duran Guerrero, who did not speak.
Alvarez said she and Guerrero had recently been talking about what it would be like when their daughter got older and how hard it would be when she went to school for the first time.
“The day before, he took her to the park, and the two of them had such a happy time. That Monday afternoon was supposed to be her day with Papa, but he never came home,” Alvarez said, choking back tears. “And now my daughter asks for Papa, and I don’t have the strength to tell her that Papa isn’t coming.”
“I love you, my love. You will always be the love of my life,” Alvarez said.
Benjamin Gideon, an attorney for the family also spoke on Thursday saying Guerrero had not been accused of committing a crime, was in the country lawfully, and was following a lawful process as prescribed by our federal government when he was killed by federal agents.
Gideon, who has built a career on high-dollar cases against corporations, insurers and government entities, painted a picture of a needless killing by government agents no one invited to Biddeford, brought on by a federal policy that treats deaths like Guerrero’s as “collateral damage.”
“Last week it was Houston, Texas, this week it was Biddeford, Maine, and it’ll be somewhere else next week,” Gideon said. “So we, as a nation and we as a community, have to answer a simple question: Do we accept the idea that innocent, loving partners and loving and devoted fathers of three-year-olds can be collateral damage to this government’s policies?”
Guerrero was shot in his car after what ICE initially said was an attempt to enforce a final deportation order. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin later told U.S. Sen. Angus King that Guerrero was not the target of the agents’ warrant.
Witness testimony and videos suggest four or five shots were fired at Guerrero. Mullin initially claimed that Guerrero had “weaponized” his vehicle when confronted by ICE agents. But on Monday evening, ICE said that he had “attempted to flee.” No video yet released appears to show the shooting, and none of the ICE agents involved had a body camera.
David Brouillette, 37, reportedly admitted to firing the shots that killed Guerrero during a phone call with his ex-wife, who told the Portland Press Herald her ex-husband asked her to “lie for him” and to “cover for his character,” describing him as “unusually calm.”
Brouillette was a new recruit when he fatally shot Guerrero in his vehicle about 7 a.m. at the intersection of Pool and Hill streets.
At the press conference on Thursday, Gideon suggested that the family may take legal action for Guerrero’s death.
Correction: An earlier version of this story misspelled Martha Karolina Rojas Alvarez’s last name.
