Vela got probation for records tampering. Defense attorneys said a new trial was justified because jurors slept, coughed during testimony.
to not divulge to the jury that Vela also had been charged with official oppression, a Class A misdemeanor. Freeman was held in contempt by state District Judge Velia Meza, and his case is still pending.
The official oppression charges were aired during the punishment phase of the trial but eventually dismissed. Meza sentenced Vela to five years of probation and 90 days in jail on two counts of evidence tampering, a third-degree felony. Following a lengthy hearing this week, Meza denied Vela’s request for a new trial. Her lawyers are appealing her conviction.
Partly because of the complexity of her office accounting system, the high-profile public corruption trial of Vela and her sentencing dragged on for months. Besides Freeman, witnesses included a former records clerk and deputies who worked for Vela and the Justice of the Peace for Precinct 2, Roberto Vazquez.
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