Overview
- The June 30 killing at the Clemens Food Group plant left 21-year-old Brandon Eduardo Velasquez Chavez dead after prosecutors say 20-year-old coworker Valmir Djempsley chased him and stabbed him in the back.
- Plant supervisors and witnesses said the men argued over a numbered, employee-assigned knife before the stabbing and Coldwater police say no witnesses corroborated Djempsley’s claim that Chavez head-butted him.
- Djempsley, a Haitian national who U.S. authorities say entered the country irregularly in Texas in 2024, was charged with open murder, pleaded not guilty at arraignment, and was denied bond.
- U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has lodged an administrative detainer asking local officials to notify ICE before any release, and Branch County prosecutors said they will seek the maximum sentence if Djempsley is convicted.
- DHS public statements blaming federal border policy have turned the local homicide into a national immigration flashpoint and could affect custody decisions and possible deportation after criminal proceedings conclude.