SAN ANTONIO – Bexar County leaders have pushed back on a claim from San Antonio Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones that footage of a councilwoman being booked on a DWI charge late last month was “leaked video,” according to an email exchange obtained by KSAT Investigates.
On July 25, hours after District 8 Councilwoman Ivalis Meza Gonzalez was released on bond in her misdemeanor DWI case, Jones emailed Bexar County Judge Peter Sakai about footage that showed the councilwoman in shackles making her first appearance before a jail magistrate judge that morning.
“Unfortunate about the leaked video surrounding the CW’s (councilwoman’s) arrest. As I understand, such a leak is unprecedented. Would appreciate your office investigating how that leak happened,” Jones wrote in an email that CC’d City Manager Erik Walsh, City Attorney Andy Segovia and other city leadership.
In a July 28 email response to Jones, Sakai took issue with Jones’ description of the footage.
“Dear Mayor Jones: I am in receipt of your email from Friday evening. In regards to your email, I must object to your reference to a ‘leaked video’. It is my understanding that the magistrate court that I assume that you are referencing to is first a public courtroom pursuant to statutory and constitutional laws of the State of Texas and second it is standard operation rule that all proceedings of the magistrate court is live streamed and thus, accessible to the public,” wrote Sakai, who CC’d county leadership and designated Judge Ron Rangel, the county’s administrative judge, to respond with specific laws regarding public access to courts in Texas.
In an email response to Sakai, Jones expanded on her complaint, writing, “I am still troubled that the media seemed to have real time access to the Councilwoman’s video. My understanding is that the County’s magistration process is live streamed through the County’s website but there is no archive for search or retrieval. Consequently, there remains a real concern that someone was tipped that the Councilwoman would soon appear on the live stream unless media outlets continually monitor live stream magistrations.”
The county has livestreamed magistrations since 2020 and the stream is frequently monitored by media outlets, including KSAT, in order to record footage of defendants being booked in high-profile cases.
KSAT recorded the magistration stream July 23, two days before Meza Gonzalez’s arrest and booking, in order to get footage of Charles Byrd being charged with murder in connection with the death of his wife.
KSAT again recorded the stream Friday, as Ashley Pardo was being booked on a felony charge of abandoning or endangering a child with criminal negligence.
Pardo was first arrested in May, on accusations she bought ammunition and tactical gear for her son as he expressed a desire to carry out mass violence at a local middle school.
Judge Rangel wrote the city should provide more access to its magistration process
In a lengthy response to Jones sent via email Monday, Rangel said this was the first complaint the county had received about the live feed.
The judge then provided several prior court cases that guarantee the public’s right to view criminal proceedings.
Rangel wrote it is important to maintain transparency “to dispel public misperceptions about how the (justice) system operates.”
“As I understand it, the City’s current magistration process is not open to the public leaving the City vulnerable to similar lawsuits,” wrote Rangel, referring to the city’s decision years ago to no longer allow public access to city magistration hearings at its detention center.
“A forwardthinking community like San Antonio, where collaboration and transparency are essential to public trust, should always provide accessibility to the entirety of the magistration process,” wrote Rangel.
Suspects arrested on site by San Antonio police, including on charges of DWI, are typically first booked at the city detention center and then transferred to the Bexar County jail.
“This discussion highlights the broader need to reexamine the current double magistration that typically burdens SAPD arrestees with up to six additional hours of incarceration before a County magistrate may make a valid bail decision. In the time it takes the City to transport an arrestee to the County facility, a valid bail decision could have already been made,” Rangel wrote.
Sakai and Rangel declined comment this week, and a spokesman for the county judge told KSAT the emails speak for themselves.
The mayor’s office released the following statement late Monday night:
“The Mayor watched the video along with the City Manager and City Attorney. None had ever seen such a video of the County’s magistration process, and only recently learned the County began livestreaming those proceedings in 2020. This led all to believe the footage may have been inappropriately shared. It is odd that despite the number of high-profile DUI/DWI arrests since 2020, this remains the only footage shared publicly.”
Meza Gonzalez, who was elected to her seat in the June 6 runoff, was pulled over July 24 on Interstate 10 after leaving a downtown club, a blood draw warrant states.
During a sobriety test, the warrant said that Meza Gonzalez had “watery, glossy eyes” and had a “moderate odor of intoxicants.”
“Last night I was pulled over on suspicion of a DUI. I know as a public servant, we are held to a higher standard, and I failed to meet that standard. I’m deeply regretful at the disappointment I’ve caused my constituents, my family and my colleagues,” said Meza Gonzalez as she walked out of jail late last month.
She is scheduled to be arraigned in County Court 9 on Aug. 25, Bexar County court records show.
Read more reporting on the KSAT Investigates page.