Last night the Dallas CBS affiliate, KTVT channel 11, ran this story about Nora Quezada, a North Richland Hills (a Fort Worth, Texas, suburb) soccer mom jailed by the District Attorney in Cameron County, Texas, for not appearing as a witness in a murder trial. Problem is the murder trial hasn't happened yet. It's been delayed at least twice now. Bigger problem, Quezada never said she would not appear, but instead advised Armando Villalobos, the elected prosecutor for Cameron County, that she did not have the money to make the trip and asked for help.
The troubles for Quezada, technically speaking I guess, began when she was 15 and living in Brownsville, Texas. Quezada's boyfriend at the time, Ricky "El Boy" Hernandez, allegedly killed three teenage boys as part of a robbery attempt—Jason Sexton (14), Robert Moreno (18), and Ricardo Mata (18). See the Brownsville Herald story here. Also note coverage by the Houston Chronicle from 2006 here. According to Quezada's account, and the coverage of accomplice trials such as here, she wasn't involved with or present during the shootings. That was on April 25, 1998. Quezada hasn't seen "El Boy" since.
Fast forward to present day. "El Boy" is in custody and Cameron County is planning a trial. They want Quezada to be there, even though she doesn't even remember her boyfriend from more than a decade ago, and so they subpoena her to appear in May, which she did. But after making the 9 hour trip with her husband and two young children, the judge continued the case and told her she would have to make the 551 mile trip again another day. That's when Nora realized she was in over her head. The economy is bad, and that makes it hard for a mother of two to take off from her job at a daycare, lose pay for at least a day or two at a time, spend money on food and motels, and drive across the state on a regular basis. Still, Quezada wanted to do what the prosecution asked, she wanted to do what she felt was her duty and help make sure justice was done. So, she did the logical thing and asked the Cameron County District Attorney responsible for prosecuting the case for help getting to the courthouse. Nora Quezada asked for some monetary assistance.
You would think such a request for assistance would not be a problem. The Texas Code of Criminal Procedure, article 35.27, provides for the reimbursement of witness expenses when they come from out of county. The law specifically spells out that every witness from out of county shall be reimbursed for necessary meal, transportation, and lodging expenses incurred as a result of attendance as a witness. Granted, the law specifies that the witness make out an affidavit, but how is a regular, everyday person—a lay witness untrained in legal matters and not represented by counsel— supposed to know the ins and outs of that provision? Doesn't it make sense that the prosecutor, the guy that put Quezada in this position in the first place, should help her with the process? Instead, what she got was a slap in the face from Assistant District Attorney Gillman, who allegedly told her that he was "not the Bank of America." Perhaps Mr. Gillman hasn't read 35.27 himself. I understand that these expenses are to be paid by the State and that the county may pay them and be reimbursed, but Mr. Gillman's response was not only ridiculous, it was inhumane.
Once the prosecution refused to help their witness come testify in their case when she could not afford to do so, Nora Quezada had no choice. She sent a brief letter to the Court advising that she could not afford to attend and would not be at the next setting. The letter and a note for the judge were placed in the file and that was that, nobody contacted her to suggest a solution, nobody offered to help her make a payment. Instead, Cameron County DA Armando Villalobos had her arrested in Tarrant County, jailed, transported in custody to Cameron County, and held her for three weeks until she could find an attorney to file a motion and get her out. Oh, and while she sat waiting in jail, the Cameron County DA interviewed her again about the case, and she told them again she could not remember anything. She and her husband are left now with a belief that the DA was attempting to coerce her into false testimony to help their case.
Nora Quezada is out of jail now, having had to promise the judge that she will be in Cameron County for trial, presumably to give testimony for Armando Villalobos on absolutely nothing at all. Hopefully, now that she has a lawyer of her own, somebody will help her pay the expenses for the trip, and certainly someone will file the proper forms to get her reimbursed. She appeared in Court on November 1 for a set trial date, but the case was continued to January.
One thing is definite, and that is that the Quezada's will never look at the Texas Criminal Justice System the same way again. Continuances are a part of criminal trial law, and they are necessary and proper. I don't fault the prosecution or the defense for having to reset this case, but there is great fault for the ignorance, arrogance, and abuse of authority exhibited by the Cameron County District Attorney and his staff. I doubt Mrs. Quezada will be able to trust Texas Justice again, if she ever did, and who could blame her? For that matter, if the prosecution really is this set on forcing her to testify when she has said she remembers nothing of importance, and if they are set on putting her in jail, questioning her while she is in custody, and forcing her to spend money she doesn't have with no hope of assistance, I'm beginning to question, as both she and her husband have, what the real motive is here. Maybe the prosecution is trying to avoid the mistrials they had in the co-defendant cases by securing some "stronger" or additional testimony. That is a real problem. Either way, Armando Villalobos, Mr. Gillman, and the staff of the Cameron County District Attorney's Office were way out of line. Hopefully, now that Nora Quezada's story has come to light, their actions will have consequences.
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