Criminal cases in South Texas are unraveling because of a Texas Ranger's suspension after the Uvalde

Last edited Fri Dec 23, 2022, 09:07 AM - Edit history (1)

Criminal cases in South Texas are unraveling because of a Texas Ranger’s suspension after the Uvalde shooting

by Jason Buch, Texas Tribune


Late in the afternoon on Sept. 8, just hours after hammering out a plea deal for a teenage client accused of capital murder, defense attorney Leigh Cutter received a text from Uvalde County District Attorney Christina Mitchell: “I need to disclose something to you. Call me when you can.”

On the phone, Mitchell had a bombshell revelation: Christopher Ryan Kindell, the Texas Ranger who’d led the investigation of Cutter’s client, had been suspended while the Texas Department of Public Safety — the agency that oversees the Rangers — investigated his role in the law enforcement response to the horrific mass shooting at Robb Elementary School that left 19 students and two teachers dead.

As far as Cutter was concerned, the suspension — which the prosecutor was required by law to disclose to the defense — meant that Mitchell’s key witness was tainted. She told Mitchell that her client would reject the plea deal and go to trial on charges that, when he was 12 years old, he shot and killed Uvalde boxer John VanMeter in 2019.

Five days later, as potential jurors waited in the courtroom, Cutter and her co-counsel, Mary Pietrazek, held tense negotiations with Mitchell. In the end, they agreed to a six-year sentence — one year less than the original deal. The change was significant because it would allow the defendant — whose court file is sealed because he’s a juvenile — to be released before he turns 18 and avoid being transferred to an adult prison. The plea deal was first reported by the San Antonio Express-News.

Read more: https://www.texastribune.org/2022/12/22/texas-ranger-uvalde-shooting-criminal-cases-kindell/