After a lot dialogue throughout a listening to earlier this month, 406th District Court docket Choose Oscar J. Hale printed sealed orders on two motions filed by each protection attorneys and prosecutors within the capital homicide case of the Laredo man accused of killing a household of 4 in April 2020.
Samuel Enrique Lopez, 20, is accused of fatally stabbing Zayra Marlén Fuentes, 33; Lesly Sarahy Hernandez, 18; and Pedro Cruz, 12. He additionally allegedly sexually assaulted Julian Saracho, 2, with a blunt object based on the indictment filed in early Could. Data state Lopez additionally punched, hit and suffocated the kid by overlaying his mouth and nostril with duct tape.
The Webb County District Legal professional’s Workplace is looking for the dying penalty.
Throughout a listening to on March 4, prosecutors argued that protection attorneys printed their movement for exculpatory proof with incomplete info between Webb County Jail Commander Shane Sowell and prosecutors.
In early February, protection attorneys filed a movement to request exculpatory and/or inconsistent proof after an October listening to the place Sowell produced documented communications between himself and the DA’s workplace.
“In brief, the obligation to reveal will not be restricted to prosecutors however embraces all members of the ‘prosecution group,’ which incorporates all regulation enforcement officers who’ve labored on the case and thereby contributed to the prosecutorial effort,” the protection movement states.
Prosecutors filed a movement to quash nevertheless it was denied by Hale. Prosecutors added that the protection’s subpoena was filed with incomplete info “merely to create the looks of impropriety” including that it was an incomplete and one-sided reflection of a dialog.
Earlier than the March 4 listening to, prosecutors filed a movement to quash the protection’s subpoena of paperwork from Sowell.
Their movement states that the protection’s subpoena is broad, it will require manufacturing of labor product and the time given to conform was unreasonable.
District Legal professional Isidro Alaniz advised the courtroom that protection attorneys haven’t offered a foundation or justified why they wish to see the entire communication between Sowell and the DA’s workplace.
“They shouldn’t be allowed to create the looks of impropriety for down the street through the use of one-sided communication of a piece product,” Alaniz mentioned.
Protection attorneys argued that the paperwork connected to the communication printed of their movement was reviewed by the courtroom.
“All we did was connect the paperwork that this courtroom checked out and mentioned they didn’t see an issue with the paperwork and overruled (prosecutors’) objections and made it a part of the file,” Protection Legal professional Sid Arismendez mentioned.
Prosecutors requested the courtroom make the communication ex parte and hold it beneath seal as a result of they think about the communications privileged beneath a piece product rule in Texas regulation.
In keeping with on-line courtroom information, there are three sealed orders signed by Hale on two sealed motions filed by attorneys. It’s unclear what the orders state.
There’s a pre-trial listening to scheduled for June 3 within the 406th District Court docket.
