Judge denies motion to remove DA from Barrientes Vela public corruption case
A visiting judge has denied a motion to have the Bexar County district attorney disqualified from the public corruption case of Michelle Barrientes Vela, setting the state for the indicted ex-constable to finally go to trial nearly two years after she and a member of her administration were indicted.
Barrientes Vela makes first court appearance since being indicted on felony charges
SAN ANTONIO – Former Bexar County Precinct 2 Constable Michelle Barrientes Vela on Wednesday morning made her first court appearance since her arrest last month on multiple felony and misdemeanor charges. Surrounded by family members and a group of supporters, Barrientes Vela was in and out of court in under an hour. Supporters at one point yelled “Collier coward,”and tried to block a KSAT 12 photographer from recording footage of Barrientes Vela outside court. Barrientes Vela faces one felony count of aggravated perjury, two felony counts of tampering with evidence and three misdemeanor counts of official oppression. Prosecutors accuse Barrientes Vela of lying in her sworn statements about Deputy Leonicio Moreno, who had filed an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission complaint against her.