SAN ANTONIO – The Bexar County District Attorney said the backlog of yet-to-be-indicted felony cases has been cut by 11 percent.
Joe Gonzales updated Bexar County commissioners on the progress made by the “High Risk Intake Team” on Tuesday.
The team was created in November 2023 after a spate of summer shootings of five SAPD officers in which the suspects had criminal histories.
Gonzales and San Antonio Police Chief William McManus sparred over who was to blame.
“There was a concern among many of us about areas where we could improve criminal justice,” Gonzales said.
Bexar County Judge Peter Sakai and San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg announced they would bring law enforcement and prosecutors together to discuss solutions. Gonzales said this is one of them.
Bexar County commissioners agreed to allow Gonzales to spend $295,000 in unused funding for six vacant positions to pay prosecutors who volunteer for extra work preparing cases for a grand jury. The so-called “High Risk Intake Team” would focus on violent crimes, repeat offenders and cases specifically highlighted by police or prosecutors.
“We’ve assigned veteran prosecutors to the more serious cases, the ones involving violent crime,” Gonzales said.
He said 45 prosecutors volunteered to do extra work to prepare cases for a grand jury.
“Those 45 prosecutors have now spent in about two and a half months, close to 900 hours, 895 hours, reducing the backlog,” said Gonzales.
When the team was launched in November, Gonzales told commissioners the plan was temporary and would be revisited by May 2024.