The immigration arrest of a man facing trial in Boston has led to a high-stakes legal showdown that is pitting a local prosecutor and a local judge against top federal prosecutors in Massachusetts.

As Suffolk District Attorney Kevin Hayden considers whether to bring criminal charges against an ICE agent, US Attorney for Massachusetts Leah Foley warns the move “will not be tolerated.”

Murat Erkan, the attorney for Wilson Martell-Lebron, the Saugus man arrested by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, also offered his view, saying that the “battle lines are drawn; we’re going to see who blinks first.”

And last Friday, Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell weighed in, saying she is backing the federal call for a dismissal in the case. All of which puts a spotlight on Hayden’s next move.

ICE agents grabbed Martell-Lebron as he walked out of court on March 27, five years after the DA’s proceedings against him began over charges that he lied on a license application — and just a day before his trial was expected to go to a jury.

A video of the detention provided by Erkan shows Martell-Lebron’s partner outside Boston Municipal Court, frantically approaching a group of people in plainclothes near a black Dodge SUV.

“Where are you taking him?” the woman asked several times, to no answer. The SUV takes off in the video, with Martell-Lebron inside, according to Erkan.

“Is that a kidnapping? You’re not going to tell us where he’s going?” Erkan shouts.

Martell-Lebron was on trial because he allegedly falsified a drive’rs license application, claiming to be a US citizen when he has Dominican citizenship. That’s a felony charge, though Massachusetts residents can now obtain licenses regardless of immigration status. Prosecutors say Martell-Lebron’s real name is Juan Carlos Baez, and he has faced drug charges in the past.

ICE Special Agent Brian Sullivan was a witness for the Suffolk DA in Martell-Lebron’s license case, helping to establish his nationality. Sullivan then arrested Martell-Lebron just before the case was going to a jury.

Hayden said his office did not know federal agents were planning to arrest the defendant.

The arrest went over like a lead balloon with Boston Municipal Court Judge Mark Summerville. He ordered Sullivan to appear the next day in court, and for ICE to bring Martell-Lebron back to stand trial. Neither thing happened.

The judge dropped the charges against Martell-Lebron and held Sullivan in contempt, saying he had violated Martell-Lebron’s constitutional rights and prevented his appearance at a trial.

Summerville said in court that he was referring the matter to Hayden to determine whether to prosecute. 

“We will see how seriously the Suffolk County district attorney’s office takes this egregious conduct,” Summerville said in a video of the proceeding.

This story was first published by WBUR on April 14. The Reporter and WBUR share content through a media partnership.