A.D. Ibarra

-Eagle Pass

     The trial against suspended Justice of the Peace Cesar Perez is proceeding quickly with jury selection taking place on Tuesday until about 3:00 P.M. and opening statements and the calling of the first witness subsequently thereafter.

     One key motion in Tuesday's phase was the state dismissing charges of organized criminal activity against Perez which was filed in district court just before the prosecution called Andres Rodriguez III to the witness stand late Tuesday followed by former Maverick County Auditor Carlos Pereda early Wednesday morning which ended in a series of questions by prosecution and objections by the defense before Pereda left the witness stand.

     Collections Director Ruben Montemayor was called in and was asked to produce documents from 2007 to 2013 to which he replied they would probably be in storage and that he honestly didn't know what kind of condition they would be in to which defense counsel Earl Herring responded, "We want them all." 

     The Honorable Amado Abascal, 365th District Judge ordered Montemayor to effectively advise his superiors to retrieve those records by order of the court.

     Four state witnesses that followed were individuals who allegedly made payments to the JP's office anywhere from 2007 to 2008.

     Of the four witnesses, at least two of them stated that they had made cash payments to secretaries and one stated that he paid with a money order and was asked five years later to produce a receipt of that money order which he said would be impossible.

     Defense attorneys Herring and Rogelio Munoz worked to question the validity of the witnesses accusing one of the state's witnesses of having a questionable attitude toward the seriousness of citations issued as the witness admitted to disposing of them in the trash at the time they were given and yet a second was discredited for allegedly testifying to Texas Rangers and to the state against Perez in retaliation to a civil case in which he was ordered to pay a sum of $1,300.00 for not repairing a computer back in 2008.

     The court recessed at noon on Wednesday and the result of Wednesday afternoon's deliberations were not available at press time.

     Lead prosecutor in this case is Lance Kutnick.  Kutnick is being assisted by Jonathan White, Assistant Attorney General, Criminal Prosecutions Division White Collar Crime & Public Integrity Section.