By Karen Gleason
The 830 Times
A jury was selected in state district court Monday for the trial of a man charged with indecency with a child.
Opening statements and the witness testimony were set to begin Tuesday morning in the 83rd Judicial District Court on the second floor of the Val Verde County Judicial Center.
Gilberto Barrera, the defendant, has been indicted for the offense of indecency with a child for allegedly fondling a girl younger than 17 years of age in an incident that reportedly took place in late November 2020.
The girl, who was identified by initials in the indictment, will not be named during reporting on the trial. State law prohibits the identification of victims of sexual assault.
Monday’s court session began with about 60 Val Verde County residents presenting themselves for jury duty.
Assistant District Attorney Jessica Shawver-Savino will present the state’s case against Barrera, and Barrera is represented by San Antonio attorney Don Flanary of the Flanary Law Firm.
District Attorney Suzanne West assisted Shawver-Savino with the jury selection process, and Amanda Hernandez assisted Flanary.
Shawver-Savino spoke to the venire during the morning session, and Flanary spoke to the pool of prospective jurors after lunch.
Flanary quizzed the men and women in the prospective jury pool about the principle of the presumption of innocence, reminding them, “You must presume right now that (Barrera) is not guilty.”
Flanary also reminded prospective jurors they must wait until the end of the trial, after all of the evidence has been presented, before they can begin to assess Barrera’s guilt or innocence in the case.
Flanary questioned the prospective jurors about their feelings regarding whether or not a woman might lie about being sexually assaulted.
He reminded them that being arrested and charged with a crime is not proof of guilt.
“Mr. Barrera does not have to prove anything,” Flanary said, adding the burden of proof in a criminal case rests squarely on the shoulders of the state.
Flanary asked the women and men in the pool if they would be able to consider probation during the punishment phase if they found his client guilty of the charge against him. He polled each prospective juror on the question, and many said they would not be able to consider probation for anyone found guilty of the charge.
Flanary told the prospective jurors his client is a Border Patrol agent and asked them if any of them were Border Patrol agents. When three said they were, Flanary asked them if they knew Barrera, and when all of them said they did not, he asked if knowing Barrera was a fellow agent would make them more or less likely to believe anything he might say.
One of the agents said the fact that Barrera is also a Border Patrol agent would likely make him hold Barrera to a higher standard than an ordinary citizen. That prospective juror was not selected.
Flanary asked members of the jury pool if any had ever been the victim of a sexual assault or if they are related to, or friends with, anyone who has been.
When Flanary finished his round of questions, he and Hernandez conferred with West and Shawver-Savino and 83rd Judicial District Judge Robert E. Cadena at the front of the courtroom.
After the conference, the attorneys and Cadena called a number of prospective jurors to the front of the courtroom to question them individually.
The state’s attorneys and Flanary and his assistant then prepared lists of jurors they wished to dismiss.
Once this process was complete, the remaining members of the jury pool returned to the courtroom, and a member of the district clerk’s staff called out the numbers of the individuals who had been selected for the jury.
Cadena thanked those citizens who had not been chosen, telling them, “I am proud of you all for being here. Thank you for your patience and your presence.”
After the 12 jurors and two alternates were seated, Cadena read to them a list of preliminary instructions about how they will be required to conduct themselves while the trial is in progress.
Cadena then recognized Shawver-Savino, who read the indictment against Barrera that detailed the alleged incident that occurred in November 2020 involving a girl younger than 17 years of age.
Cadena asked Barrera to stand and said, “What is the defendant’s plea?”
“Not guilty,” Barrera replied.
—
Contact the author at delriomagnoliafan@gmail.com
