SAN ANTONIO – A Bexar County district court judge on Thursday denied a motion to temporarily remove a Northside Independent School District trustee from office.
Judge Rosie Alvarado ruled that Karla Duran can remain in her position as District 3 trustee while the lawsuit seeking to formally remove Duran moves toward trial.
Duran, who did not appear at Thursday’s hearing, was arrested by San Antonio police on suspicion of driving while intoxicated in September, but was later given pretrial diversion in the case.
Although residents repeatedly criticized Duran at board meetings in the weeks and months after her arrest, NISD has no policy that allows her fellow board members to publicly reprimand her.
A resident of Duran’s district, Robert Gonzalez, filed suit in February under a state law that allows for the removal of public officials due to public intoxication.
Gonzalez, who was among the residents of the district who denounced Duran for her arrest, testified Thursday that the trustee seems “immune to her actions.”
An open records specialist for the San Antonio Police Department was called to the witness stand and provided written documentation from Duran’s misdemeanor arrest, but the arresting officer in the case was not subpoenaed in time for the hearing, Gonzalez’s attorney, Francisco Canseco, revealed in court.
Alvarado noted that although the paperwork contained an affidavit seeking a warrant to draw Duran’s blood, the warrant itself was not included.
Canseco told KSAT after the hearing that someone pulled it out of the file.
The nine-page warrant, however, has been readily available since Duran’s arrest and includes a detailed narrative of her interactions with officers and behavior at the scene.
Canseco’s final witness, Vera Billingsley, agreed to be appointed as temporary trustee in place of Duran before appearing to hesitate on accepting the position since it would require a bond to be paid within the next 72 hours.
“I wanted to have some purity in there. I didn’t want any coaching involved,” Canseco told KSAT after the hearing.
Billingsley’s testimony became moot after Alvarado denied the motion for temporary appointment.
“We want justice for the children because she’s a bad example,” said Billingsley, who added that Duran has taken steps to avoid speaking with residents about her arrest.
Billingsley finished third to Duran and candidate Ty Chumbley in last year’s NISD election.
Canseco told KSAT he hopes to bring the suit to a jury trial in October or November.
Why was Duran not at her own hearing?
Notably absent from Thursday’s hearing was Duran herself.
Her attorney, Martin Golando, said Duran did not appear because she was not subpoenaed to do so.
Golando declined to comment on the record after the hearing ended.
Duran previously told KSAT in a written statement that she apologized for the disruption her arrest caused.
Bexar County District Attorney Joe Gonzales recused his office from the case weeks after Duran’s arrest, meaning it was handed off to a special prosecutor.
Duran entered pretrial diversion in February, meaning she could eventually get the arrest removed from her criminal record.
Pretrial diversion is described as a contract between the prosecuting attorney and the accused person and usually includes taking appropriate courses for the charge, such as substance abuse or behavioral modification classes, community service and making restitution.
Read more reporting on the KSAT Investigates page.
