SAN ANTONIO – Former Bexar County constable Michelle Barrientes Vela, who was formally acquitted of criminal charges early last year, filed two lawsuits in federal court this month accusing law enforcement of using false and misleading evidence to investigate her for public corruption.
A civil rights suit filed Sept. 8 names Texas Ranger Bradley Freeman and Bexar County Sheriff’s Deputy Ryan Escobedo as defendants, while a second civil rights suit filed Friday accuses Bexar County of pushing a false narrative that culminated with Barrientes Vela’s 2020 indictment on multiple misdemeanor and felony charges.
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The first suit accuses Escobedo, a 16-year veteran of BCSO, of adding false information to an April 2019 incident report in which someone at Rodriguez Park claimed Barrientes Vela was shaking him down for cash to pay for security on Easter weekend.
The allegation was a central part of Barrientes Vela’s 2020 indictment for tampering with government records, aggravated perjury and official oppression.
The suit claims Escobedo never spoke with the parkgoer, however, and that the deputy’s patrol vehicle was actually several miles away from the West Side park.
A BCSO spokesperson declined to comment on the suit Tuesday.
Freeman, the lead investigator in the criminal case, is accused of mischaracterizing records for security payments at the park and leaving out information from his 2019 probable cause affidavit.
Freeman, whose testimony during Barrientes Vela’s 2022 trial nearly led to a mistrial, was found in contempt of court months later after a judge ruled he disregarded a court order not to discuss other allegations against Barrientes Vela besides tampering with records.
A visiting judge upheld the contempt of court ruling against Freeman in 2023.
A Texas Department of Public Safety spokesperson declined comment about the suit via email Tuesday.
Barrientes Vela’s second suit, filed against Bexar County, states that officials failed to correct information provided to investigators related to hiring security for a park pavilion.
The suit states county leaders, including former Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff, made numerous public comments about Barrientes Vela around the time her Precinct 2 offices were raided in September 2019.
Barrientes Vela was convicted of felony tampering with records in Sept. 2022.
She was sentenced to five years probation, 90 days in jail and 600 hours of community service during a Jan. 2023 sentencing hearing.
But Barrientes Vela appealed her convictions and in October 2024 a Texas appeals court reversed both tampering convictions and acquitted her of the charges.
The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals declined to review the case in February 2025, exonerating the former constable.
Barrientes Vela is representing herself in both lawsuits, records show.
“These matters are about transparency, accountability, and the principle that government should answer to the people. I am asking the courts to examine the evidence, protect constitutional rights, and allow the truth to be heard through the judicial process,” wrote Barrientes Vela in a press release announcing the lawsuits.
