“NOTE” REPORTED BY SOME OUTLETS DOES NOT EXIST
by Sharon Rondeau
(May 11, 2016) — A story circulating on some websites concerning a New York ICE agent’s death from a self-inflicted gunshot wound on Friday is partly true and partly false, according to the New York ICE field office director, Luis M. Martinez.
Early on Wednesday, The Post & Email was made aware of the story by one of its columnists, Dr. Thomas D. Davis, Col, USA (Ret.). The story was reported by Breitbart on Monday, although it did not appear in our search until Wednesday afternoon.
As we were unable to find the story reported in the mainstream media this morning, we began to suspect that the reported incident was a hoax.
We went to the website of USCIS.gov, which contains a link to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency. Both entities are part of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). At ICE, we located a media email address which we used to ask whether or not the story were accurate.
Within several minutes we received a response directing us to utilize a different email address to speak to a media representative. The message also contained a phone number, which we called.
The person responding to our call was not able to verify the story but directed us to call the New York ICE office and to ask for Mr. Luis Martinez, whose number she provided.
Mr. Martinez happened to answer our call and appeared to immediately be aware of the story we referenced, advising us that “The story is true. However, the part about the suicide note is absolutely not true.” He indicated that he believes the latter part of the story was fabricated for a particular reason.
Martinez asked us to send him an email to which he would respond with an official statement from the agency. We then sent him the following:
INQUIRY – THE POST & EMAIL
Thank you for speaking with me just now, Mr. Martinez.
My inquiry pertained to a story in some secondary news sources stating that an ICE agent was pronounced deceased of a self-inflicted gunshot wound on Friday, May 6.
https://www.superstation95.com/index.php/world/1288.
You stated that that part of the story is true, while the “suicide note” portion is not.
If you will be so kind, please send any news release or public statement you have so that I can clarify this matter for my readership.
Thank you very much.
Sharon Rondeau, Editor
The Post & Email
www.thepostemail.com
P.O. Box 113
Canterbury, CT 06331-0113
As of Friday, the agent’s name had not been released.
As of this writing, we have not received a response from Martinez but will provide an update if and when that changes.