By Karen Gleason
The 830 Times
A former Del Rio Police Department detective charged with sexual assault of a child returned to court on Monday, but he won’t be back before a judge again for 90 days as his case continues to work its way through the criminal justice system.
The criminal case against Joshua Garcia, 33, was among nearly 90 on the docket of the 83rd Judicial District Court Monday. Garcia attended the docket call, sitting in the audience gallery all morning and into the afternoon.
Retired 394th Judicial District Judge Roy Ferguson was on the bench in the 83rd Judicial District Court to preside over
the docket call in the absence of Judge Robert E. Cadena. Ferguson was elected to three terms on the bench and became internet famous as part of the “Cat Lawyer” video during the COVID-19 pandemic, when one of the lawyers appearing before him via Zoom accidentally engaged the cat filter, making it appear that the judge was holding a hearing with two distinguished-looking attorneys and one fluffy white kitten.
Ferguson began promptly at 9 a.m. and started the day by introducing himself to attorneys, staff and audience members and asking the attorneys to introduce themselves to him when their cases were called.
Garcia’s case was just about halfway through the docket, and when it was called, Garcia’s attorney, Adam Setra of San Antonio, and Assistant District Attorney Daniel Esquivel stood to speak to Ferguson.
Setra spoke first, telling the judge his client’s case “is a little bit of an oddball” and saying he would be filing a motion dealing with what he called “a potential conflict” in the district attorney’s office.
Setra also told the court, “I do not believe this case will be resolved through a plea,” adding there is “evidence not made accessible” to him as he works on Garcia’s defense. Setra told the court he recently “sat in the DA’s office for four hours,” waiting for someone to speak with him about the case.
Setra then asked to speak to the judge and Esquivel in private.
Ferguson granted Setra’s request for a conference in chambers.
After the conference, Ferguson recalled the case, and Setra asked for “a 90-day reset,” adding the case has “a lot of moving parts” and noting there are aspects of it that he would like to discuss with District Attorney Suzanne West.
Setra asked the court to reset the case for Sept. 21 and said he would work out which motions, if any, he needs to file.
Ferguson asked if there were any objections from the district attorney’s office to the September setting, and Esquivel replied, “No, Your Honor.”
Ferguson ordered the reset, and Setra and Garcia left the courtroom.
Garcia was fired from the Del Rio Police Department in late October 2025 following his indictment on four criminal counts.
According to paperwork on file in the case and reviewed by The 830 Times, Garcia was charged by indictment with the offenses of sexual assault of a child, a second-degree felony; possession of child pornography, a third-degree felony; possession/promotion of lewd visual material depicting a child, a state jail felony; and official oppression, a Class A misdemeanor.
The indictment reads that “on or about the 1st of January 2021” Garcia allegedly had sexual intercourse with “Child Victim 1, a pseudonym, a child who is younger than 17 years of age.”
The second count of the indictment alleges Garcia “intentionally and knowingly possess(ed) visual material that depicted and which the defendant knew visually depicted a child who was younger than 18 years of age … engaging in sexual conduct.” The count also notes that Garcia is alleged to have possessed fewer than 100 visual depictions of a child.
The third count of the indictment alleges Garcia “intentionally and knowingly possess(ed) visual material” that depicted “the genitals … of an unclothed or partially clothed child younger than 18 years of age … and said visual material appealed to the prurient interest in sex and had no serious literary, artistic, political or scientific value.”
The fourth count of the indictment alleges Garcia “on or about the 26th of January 2024 subjected Child Victim #1 to sexual harassment by making unwelcome sexual advances, knowing that the advances were not welcome by the complainant, submission to which was expressly or implicitly made a term or condition of the exercise or enjoyment by the complainant of a right or privilege.”
The indictment also notes that when he allegedly committed the offenses, “(Garcia) was acting under color of his employment as a public servant, namely a detective with the Del Rio Police Department.”
Garcia was magistrated following his arrest on Oct. 27, 2025, by Justice of the Peace Pct. 3 Pat Cole, who set $25,000 bond on each of the four counts for a total bond amount of $100,000.
According to a press release issued by the Del Rio Police Department the day after Garcia was terminated from his position with the department, the indictment was the result of an investigation initiated in April 2025 by the Texas Rangers and the DRPD.
The writer can be reached at delriomagnoliafan@gmail.com.
