El Paso DA Yvonne Rosales a no-show in Walmart shooting hearing

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El Paso District Attorney Yvonne Rosales was a no-show in courtroom Wednesday, main a district choose to schedule a Thursday afternoon hearing for her to elucidate why she mustn’t need to testify about an e mail tied to the Walmart shooting case.

If Rosales fails to seem Thursday, state District Judge Sam Medrano Jr. stated he would file a writ of attachment to compel her look — by arrest if mandatory. The visibly pissed off choose advised the packed courtroom that he has “never ever” needed to take such an excessive step throughout his time on the bench.

A safety guard knowledgeable the choose that Rosales, who resigned Monday efficient Dec. 14, was seen getting into the courthouse about an hour earlier than she was to be in Medrano’s courtroom. An lawyer representing the District Attorney’s Office advised, nevertheless, that Rosales was not seen on constructing safety footage.

In a dramatic second, former Assistant District Attorney Curtis Cox, who additionally had been ordered by Medrano to attend the hearing, walked into the courtroom three hours after it began. He was previously the lead prosecutor assigned to the Walmart case earlier than resigning this month.

Cox invoked his Fifth Amendment proper to stay silent to keep away from incriminating himself when requested a sequence of questions by the protection crew representing the person charged with gunning down 23 folks on the Cielo Vista Walmart on Aug. 3, 2019. The protection has accused each Cox and Rosales of purposely avoiding quite a few subpoena makes an attempt to compel their attendance for Wednesday.

The protection tried to ask Cox a number of questions on Rogelio “Roger” Rodriguez, Vinton’s municipal choose — described as Rosales’ “legal advisor” — who has been linked to the e-mail on the coronary heart of Wednesday’s hearing. These included whether or not Cox had shared proof with Rodriguez and whether or not Cox had retaliated in opposition to the Ciudad Juárez-based household of sufferer Alexander Gerhard Hoffmann Roth.

Hoffmann’s son, Thomas Hoffmann, testified Wednesday about how he, his brother and his mom turned concerned with Rodriguez, a man he stated they believed was engaged on behalf of Rosales and the District Attorney’s Office.

Hoffmann, who broke down all through his testimony, stated by a translator that he felt betrayed by the District Attorney’s Office and Rodriguez.

“He told us a lot of lies and he wanted us to sign some papers and I also think he wanted to use us for his own benefit,” Hoffmann testified.

Hoffmann testified that Rodriguez and his spouse used his mom’s cellphone on Aug. 4 to ship an e mail — that the Rodriguezes drafted — to native media shops criticizing Medrano and a former prosecutor assigned to the case. That allegation was first laid out in an Oct. 6 report filed by lawyer Justin Underwood, whom Medrano appointed to characterize the household.

Subsequent reporting by El Paso Matters revealed that all the e mail recipients have been a part of a media distribution listing maintained by the DA’s Office.

Alexander Hoffmann’s widow, Rosa Maria Valdez Garcia, was briefly on the stand, throughout which she confirmed her son’s testimony. When knowledgeable of the lawyer representing the DA’s Office for the hearing, Valdez contorted her face to indicate seen disgust, rolling her eyes.

Wednesday’s hearing had initially been scheduled so Medrano might decide whether or not the household had violated the July 1 gag order he set for all events in the case. The household is listed as a potential witness for the sentencing section of the trial.

Medrano’s ruling that the household has by no means violated his order was a blip in the day’s proceedings.

The focus is now on whether or not Rosales will make an look Thursday — and whether or not she’ll reply questions if she does present up.

The FBI has acquired audio recordings Thomas Hoffmann took of a few of his household’s interactions with Rodriguez, in line with Wednesday’s testimony. Underwood additionally filed a criticism with the State Bar of Texas accusing Cox of a number of felony offenses regarding his involvement with Rodriguez and the household, Cox testified.

In an interview with reporters after Wednesday’s hearing, Underwood a number of occasions referred to Rosales, Cox and Rodriguez as “cowards,” and praised the Hoffman household for his or her braveness in coming ahead and exposing their actions.

“The courage of that family to do what they did after going through what they’ve had to go through, I don’t know of any braver people maybe that I’ve ever met than that family,” Underwood stated.

Disclosure: State Bar of Texas has been a monetary supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news group that’s funded in half by donations from members, foundations and company sponsors. Financial supporters play no position in the Tribune’s journalism. Find a full list of them here.