Campos Family Files Wrongful Death Pre-Suit Petition in Federal Court, Names Akima Global Services and Acquisition Logistics as Interested Parties

Opening

On January 20, 2026, the children of Geraldo Lunas Campos — Jasmarie Lunas Pagan, Jeraldo Lunas Pagan, and Kary Lunas — filed a federal petition to perpetuate testimony in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas (El Paso Division), the first formal legal action arising from their father’s January 3 death in ICE custody at Camp East Montana. The petition named the Department of Homeland Security, Akima Global Services LLC, and Acquisition Logistics LLC as interested parties, identifying in a federal filing the two private contractors responsible for the facility’s operation and guard staffing.

What Happened / Key Facts

The filing is a Rule 27 petition — a pre-suit procedural mechanism allowing a party to preserve witness testimony before filing a formal complaint. The family anticipated “bringing, at a minimum, wrongful death and survival actions for negligence, battery, and assault,” according to the petition text reported by AP.

Attorneys representing the family: Christopher Benoit, Max A. Schoening, and Will Horowitz. The government was represented by Darryl S. Vereen (DHS).

Senior U.S. District Judge David Briones issued a temporary restraining order the same day (January 21) blocking the deportation of two detainee witnesses who had provided accounts of the death. On January 27, Briones held a formal hearing; both sides agreed to extend witness protection to six witnesses who either saw the death or spent time with Campos in the hours before. Agreement allows plaintiff counsel to take sworn depositions before the government moves to deport them.

The petition’s explicit identification of Akima Global Services as an interested party represents the first formal legal document establishing Akima’s accountability exposure in the Campos death — corroborating earlier reporting that Akima “employs the facility’s guards” and that an Akima lieutenant and Akima guards were present during the restraint.

Why This Event Matters

This filing is the primary public-record route to named guard accountability. While the petition did not name individual defendants (those would appear in the formal wrongful death complaint), it established the corporate accountability chain on the record: ICE subcontracted guard operations to Akima, and Akima’s guards were the individuals involved in the fatal restraint. The petition created the witness-protection mechanism that would otherwise have been defeated by the government deporting eyewitnesses before depositions could be taken — a pattern documented at other ICE detention facilities.

The witness-protection agreement under Judge Briones is structurally significant: it established that six detainees at Camp East Montana had relevant testimony and were at risk of involuntary removal, which the federal court treated as sufficient to enter a protective order. This is an implicit judicial finding that the witnesses were material to anticipated litigation.

Broader Context

Under the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA), claims against the United States require administrative exhaustion — the family must first file a claim with DHS and wait six months (or receive a denial) before suing the federal government in district court. The January 20 filing is consistent with a pre-suit posture. The formal wrongful death complaint against Akima and Acquisition Logistics (private parties, not subject to FTCA) could be filed independently at any time. FTCA exhaustion for a DHS/ICE claim submitted in early 2026 would run approximately August–September 2026, consistent with a fall 2026 filing for the full complaint.

Research Gaps

• Formal case number for the Rule 27 petition (PACER, Western District of Texas, El Paso)
• Status of the six witness depositions — taken, completed, or still pending as of May 2026
• Whether a formal wrongful death complaint has been filed against Akima and/or Acquisition Logistics as of May 2026
• FTCA administrative claim submission date — which determines when DHS can be sued directly
• Named Akima guards — the formal complaint will likely name individual Akima employees as defendants

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