A Texas Ranger who investigated former Bexar County Constable Michelle Barrientes Vela was scolded in court for disobeying the judge at Vela’s public corruption trial.
Investigator Bradley Freeman’s testimony Tuesday veered into a topic that the jury wasn’t supposed to know about — Vela, 48, has been charged with three counts of official oppression, a Class A misdemeanor, besides the two counts of felony evidence tampering for which she is being tried.
“I will hold you in contempt, and it will take place later,” state District Judge Velia J. Meza told Freeman. “Pursuant to the standing order, I have no other choice. That is the consequences to my order.”
The charges against Vela stem from a 2019 Easter Sunday incident at Rodriguez Park on the West Side, where she is alleged to have coerced a park patron into giving her $300 to reserve a pavilion he already had paid for.
Freeman was taking the jury through a timeline that prosecutor Dawn McCraw wrote on a large display, highlighting his various meetings with Susan Tristan, Vela’s former custodian of records, to receive documents and give her a recording device to use in Vela’s office, plus the evidence seized under search warrants with the help of the FBI.
On ExpressNews.com: Testimony: Clerk wore a recording device in probe of then-constable Michelle Barrientes Vela
When McCraw asked Freeman which offenses Vela had committed, based on his review of the evidence, he replied, “Tampering with evidence and official oppression.”
It drew a stern objection from defense attorney and former Bexar County District Attorney Nicholas “Nico” LaHood. The jury left the room and a visibly angry LaHood stood before Meza, raised his voice, waved his arms and pointed at prosecutors.
Meza had granted a “motion in limine,” an extensive list of evidence to be kept from the jury, including the fact that Vela still faces three charges of official oppression. Two previous aggravated perjury charges against her were dismissed.
“This is ridiculous. We were clear on this,” LaHood said, referring to the numerous hearings Meza has called outside the presence of the jury to warn witnesses and prosecutors not to mention matters that could predudice the jury against his client.
“They knew they were going to do this. These are not stupid people,” LaHood said, pointing to McCraw and fellow prosecutor Oscar Salinas. “There’s no other conclusion than this was deliberate.”
LaHood asked Meza to declare a mistrial. Meza denied the motion, then told Freeman that there would be “consequences” for violating her order.
“Not only did I admonish you to stick to the tampering (charges), I gave you breaks (in testimony). I was very accommodating,” Meza said.
Freeman was served Wednesday morning with an order to appear before Meza on Oct. 21, “to show cause, if any, why he should not be adjudged in and punished for contempt of court,” the document states.
The trial is now in its second week. It has moved slowly because of frequent objections to testimony and the mountain of record-keeping details that are part of the state’s case — cash logs, “security agreement” records, search warrant affidavits and subpoenas.
Freeman was the last witness for the state before prosecutors rested their case Wednesday afternoon. The defense is expected to rest Thursday morning and both sides have asked for an hour for their closing arguments.
LaHood spent most of Wednesday challenging Freeman’s testimony and criticizing how he conducted the investigation, which at times prompted each man to speak over each other.
LaHood focused on how many times “cash logs” had been mentioned in witness testimony and shown as evidence, and the fact that those specific documents had never been listed in the original indictment.
If convicted of the evidence tampering charges, Vela faces up to 10 years in prison.
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