SAN ANTONIO — Michelle Barrientes Vela, the former Bexar County constable convicted of tampering with evidence earlier this month, isn't expected to find out how much time she'll spend in jail until next month—if she's heading to jail at all.
Legal teams deliberated for several hours Monday before going into recess without handing down a punishment. They met again for much of the day Tuesday, when testimony from various former deputies revealed how Vela would create rifts between them.
Last month's verdict concluded a two-week-long trial centered around allegations that Vela altered and created her own handwritten cash logs for security at Rodriguez Park on the city’s west side.
Vela was found guilty on two counts of tampering with evidence because of those cash logs—although much of the testimony appears tied to the oppression charges under which Vela was also indicted.
On Tuesday, even more incriminating assertions were made.
In 2017, Leonicio Moreno and Chris De La Cerda sued Vela, accusing her of making sexual advancements toward Moreno during a law enforcement seminar in Galveston. The lawsuit alleges Vela joined the deputies in a hot tub.
Moreno had filed an Equal Employment Opportunity Commission complaint against Vela. She later had him arrested on perjury charges, which were later dropped. Moreno and De La Cerda lost their jobs but won them back after appealing the decision.
“I was given a choice,” deputy Joshua Lugo testified, referring to an ultimatum given by Vela that Lugo either stop befriending himself with Moreno and De La Cerda lest he be treated similarly.
Allegations of hazing were also discussed Tuesday, as former deputies testified that Moreno and De La Cerda were asked to wear tattered bailiff shirts when they got their jobs back.
“'You don’t want to talk with them if you don’t want any problems,'" Gabriel Murad, a former deputy who worked in the Precinct 2 office, said on the stand Tuesday, recalling Vela's threats.
Asides from alienating employees, early testimony from one deputy described how Vela used her deputies to handle family issues. According to the testimony from a former corporal, Vela called on her own deputies to respond to a Family Dollar where Vela’s son was accused of stealing shoes.
“She sounded like an officer in trouble,” Corporal Vanessa Pena said during testimony, adding that Vela specifically asked the traffic unit to respond, communicating over radio dispatch.
When Pena arrived, she testified, Vela was “interrogating” the manager on staff.
The investigation into Vela’s office became public in September 2019, when FBI agents executed a search warrant at the Precinct 2 Office. Deputies testify on Vela’s last day in office, they were asked to shred some documents.
“They were throwing a lot of stuff in the trash,” Deputy Gabriel Murad testified.
The district attorney’s office estimated at lunchtime that they had 15 witnesses to call before a sentence will be delivered. While it’s possible Vela could receive prison time, it is most likely she will get probation due to a lack of a criminal record.
Vela is scheduled to be back in the courtroom on Oct. 4.
Vela served as the former constable for Precinct 2 and stepped down from her role in October of 2019. At that time, she also tried to run for Bexar County Sheriff.
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