By: (AP) Less than a week after a grand jury declined to indict a former priest in a 1960 homicide, half a dozen media organizations want access to authorities' investigative file.
McAllen Police Chief Victor Rodriguez asked reporters Monday to clarify their requests so information could be released in a timely matter. However, Hidalgo County District Attorney Rene Guerra warned that Rodriguez could be charged criminally if he releases the material.
"There are some things that have to be kept secret that just cannot be put in print," Guerra said in Tuesday editions of McAllen's The Monitor, which is among media members seeking the file.
Guerra has been critical of the recent investigation conducted by McAllen police and a Texas Ranger who is part of a cold-case squad. Former priest John B. Feit was no-billed by a grand jury last week in the death of schoolteacher Irene Garza. ("No-billed" means the jury chose not indict the suspect.)
Garza was last seen on the grounds of the Sacred Heart Church in McAllen on April 16, 1960, the day before Easter Sunday. She had gone to church for her confession.
On April 21, her body was found dumped in the Second Street irrigation canal. No one was ever charged.
Garza, who was a 25-year-old beauty queen, died from a blow to the head. Feit has denied any involvement.
The case regained attention after published reports that Feit, a former Rio Grande Valley priest -- despite his conviction in a young woman's assault -- was among men whose recommendations helped some of the church's worst molesters gain new assignments.
Police investigations do not become open to the public after a person has been no-billed for a crime, said Joel White, a Houston-based media lawyer who is president of the Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas.
The Texas Public Information Act states that a person who releases confidential information can receive a fine of up to $1,000 or a six-month sentence to a county jail.
Rodriguez announced in August 2002 that police were reopening the case.
He and Guerra have locked horns over the investigation for months.
The prosecutor said the police case was weak and officers took steps to make connections where none existed.
"The officers set out to prove a murder," Guerra said. "There's no doubt in my mind, they set out to say 'This is our suspect, and this is the way we are going to investigate it.'"
Rodriguez said he was taken aback by Guerra's comments.
"I've never seen this type of conduct" from a prosecutor, Rodriguez said.
Comments
No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here