PUBLIC CORRUPTION

Former Bexar County Precinct 2 Constable Michelle Barrientes Vela was sentenced Wednesday to five years probation, 90 days in jail and 600 hours of community service.

Update:

The sentencing of convicted ex-Bexar County constable Michelle Barrientes Vela resumed Tuesday, as her defense team began calling witnesses on her behalf.

The sentencing of convicted felon Michelle Barrientes Vela was paused again Thursday, as her attorneys and prosecutors were granted time to finalize arguments over whether a key witness will be allowed to testify against her.

Former Bexar County Precinct 2 captain Marc D. Garcia appears to have turned state’s witness and is scheduled to testify against Michelle Barrientes Vela Wednesday during the sentencing phase of her public corruption trial.

Former Bexar County Precinct 2 captain Marc D. Garcia appears to have turned state’s witness and is scheduled to testify against Michelle Barrientes Vela Wednesday during the sentencing phase of her public corruption trial.

Sentencing began Monday for Michelle Barrientes Vela, the former Bexar County Precinct 2 constable convicted earlier this month on two counts of felony tampering with records.

The prosecution rested its case Wednesday afternoon in the public corruption trial of Michelle Barrientes Vela, capping off seven days of testimony that ranged from methodical to explosive and included a mistrial nearly being declared.

A deputy with the Bexar County Precinct 2 Constable’s Office testified Monday that he worked security at Rodriguez Park between eight and ten times while serving in a reserve capacity, and was not compensated.

A San Antonio man who rented pavilions at Rodriguez Park for decades of special events testified Wednesday that former Bexar County Pct. 2 Constable Michelle Barrientes Vela and other uniformed deputies intimidated him and his family as they prepared to celebrate the Easter holiday in 2019.

An attorney for the former Bexar County Precinct 2 constable provided evidence to Judge Velia Meza on July 21, including multiple rounds of live ammunition as well as letters in which someone threatened to kill Barrientes Vela.

Dallas police late Thursday released a 10-page report detailing an altercation outside a hotel earlier this month involving Michelle Barrientes Vela that led to the indicted ex-constable being barred from leaving Bexar County ahead of her public corruption trial next month.

Michelle Barrientes Vela is now prohibited from leaving Bexar County and attending political events after the judge overseeing her upcoming public corruption trial set special conditions of bond during a court hearing Thursday morning.

The trials of Barrientes Vela and her former captain, Marc D. Garcia, had been scheduled to begin Monday but were delayed again due to an ongoing trial in 226th District Court.

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.

Bexar County District Attorney Joe Gonzales this week pushed back on an attempt to remove his office from prosecuting indicted ex-constable Michelle Barrientes Vela, claiming the defense’s motion to have him disqualified failed to provide evidence of any conflict of interest.

The upcoming public corruption trial of indicted ex-Bexar County constable Michelle Barrientes Vela took another turn this week as her attorneys filed a formal motion to have District Attorney Joe Gonzales removed from the case.

Former Bexar County District Attorney Nico LaHood and the person who helped the current DA knock him out of office sparred Thursday during an evidentiary hearing in the case against indicted former constable Michelle Barrientes Vela.

Bexar County prosecutors have dismissed the most serious public corruption charge against indicted ex-constable Michelle Barrientes Vela, court records obtained by the KSAT 12 Defenders Wednesday confirm.

The public corruption trial of Michelle Barrientes Vela was delayed another two months on Friday, days after new criminal indictments were filed in the case.