Family Of Man Killed In Botched FBI Raid Files Lawsuit: Reports

HOUSTON, TX — The family of a Conroe man killed in a botched FBI rescue attempt has filed a federal lawsuit against the FBI and the man's alleged kidnappers, the attorney representing the victim’s survivors said Tuesday.

The lawsuit was filed in federal court on Sunday by civil rights attorney Randall Kallinen, officials said. According to court documents, the litigation was filed on behalf of the orphaned 12-year-old son of Ulises Valladares, 42, who died Jan. 24 after being shot by an FBI agent.

In a subsequent press briefing, Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo said the hostage grabbed for an agent’s gun during the rescue attempt, and was shot in an ensuing struggle. After the agent broke through a window with his rifle, Valladares is said to have pulled at the firearm with his bound hands, prompting the FBI agent — unaware the man was a hostage — to fire two shots in fear for his life.

FBI agents had raided a home in the 7300 block of Elbert Street in Houston to rescue Valladares after he was kidnapped from his Conroe home a day earlier. Jimmy Tommy Sanchez and Nicholas Cunningham have since been charged in the kidnapping.

Sanchez and Cunningham, who’d been arrested hours earlier after demanding a ransom from Valladares’ family, told investigators that Cunningham’s girlfriend, identified as Sophia Perez Heath, was holding Valladares at her home in Houston.

READ ALSO: Investigators Release Timeline Of Kidnapping That Led To FBI Raid

Cunningham, Sanchez, and Heath are all being held in the Montgomery County Jail. Cunningham and Sanchez were both charged with aggravated robbery and kidnapping, while Heath was charged with kidnapping.

The lawsuit, meanwhile, names the unnamed FBI agent and Valladares’ alleged kidnappers as defendants in the civil suit. Valladares’ son is being cared for my family members, the attorney said.

The FBI has declined comment.

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