Mistakes and backbiting have engulfed the El Paso County district attorney’s office. Some question if rookie District Attorney Yvonne Rosales is competent to handle one of the most high-profile death penalty cases in recent Texas history.
, an assistant district attorney under Esparza, to win the Democratic nod and ultimately the office.
During Rosales’ first 21 months in office, about 900 criminal cases were dismissed by judges because that six-month deadline passed, according to Kelli Childress, El Paso County’s lead public defender, who filed motions to drop the cases. Most were misdemeanor cases, butRosales has blamed the backlogs on the previous administration and the pandemic, which ground all court systems to a halt for more than a year.
Within days, the district attorney’s office reindicted Gabaldon on capital murder charges and gave notice it intended to seek death. Gabaldon’s attorneys argued the move was retribution for Gabaldon asserting his right to a speedy trial. A court hearing was finally held in July before state District Judge Sam Medrano, but its main achievement was to spark a confrontation over Rosales’ handling of the case.The result was Medrano slapping a gag order on all attorneys and witnesses in the case, ordering them to keep quiet outside of the courtroom.
The former lead prosecutor on the Walmart case testified last month that the emails read like they came from the district attorney’s office itself. He was fired days after suggesting so to Cox, he told the visiting judge, after nearly 25 years on the job. Rosales’ office did not respond to the new report, but she has previously argued that Underwood’s appointment by the judge was a way to investigate her office, which her office said is outside of his scope and part of the political attack on her.
Carmona based his petition largely on low numbers of case filings, high counts of dismissals, the vindictiveness ruling and what he called a ‘mishandling’ of the Walmart mass murder case — before the emails. He also cited an ethics commission opinion stating Rosales had previously used government funds for campaign materials.
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Chaos surrounding rookie El Paso DA Yvonne Rosales fuels concerns about Walmart massacre prosecutionMistakes and backbiting have engulfed the El Paso County district attorney’s office. Some question whether she is competent to handle one of the most high-profile death penalty cases in recent Texas history.
Read more »
Chaos surrounding rookie El Paso DA Yvonne Rosales fuels concerns about Walmart massacre prosecutionMistakes and backbiting have engulfed the El Paso County district attorney’s office. Some question whether she is competent to handle one of the most high-profile death penalty cases in recent Texas history.
Read more »
Chaos surrounding rookie El Paso DA Yvonne Rosales fuels concerns about Walmart massacre prosecutionMistakes and backbiting have engulfed the El Paso County district attorney’s office. Some question whether she is competent to handle one of the most high-profile death penalty cases in recent Texas history.
Read more »
Chaos surrounding rookie El Paso DA Yvonne Rosales fuels concerns about Walmart massacre prosecutionMistakes and backbiting have engulfed the El Paso County district attorney’s office. Some question whether she is competent to handle one of the most high-profile death penalty cases in recent Texas history.
Read more »
Chaos surrounding rookie El Paso DA Yvonne Rosales fuels concerns about Walmart massacre prosecutionMistakes and backbiting have engulfed the El Paso County district attorney’s office. Some question if rookie District Attorney Yvonne Rosales is competent to handle one of the most high-profile death penalty cases in recent Texas history.
Read more »