By Karen Gleason
The 830 Times
A state district court jury has found Val Verde County resident Gilberto Barrera not guilty of the offense of indecency with a child.
Jurors deliberated for nearly four hours Wednesday afternoon before reaching the unanimous verdict.
After hearing testimony all day Tuesday, jurors heard closing arguments from Barrera’s attorneys and from Assistant District Attorney Jessica Shawver-Savino, representing the state.
Before the closings, 83rd Judicial District Judge Robert E. Cadena, who presided over the trial, read aloud the charge of the court, a set of instructions to the jury about the law in the case.
Shawver-Savino thanked the jurors for their compassion and patience and urged them to “vote your conscience.”
Shawver-Savino reviewed the elements the state was required to prove, and she told the jury she believed witnesses on the stand had proved those elements.
She went over the allegations of the crime: that shortly before Thanksgiving, in late November 2020, Barrera grabbed and squeezed the breasts of a 15-year-old girl, then kissed her on the mouth.
She told the jurors she would speak to them again after statements by Barrera’s attorneys.
One of Barrera’s attorneys, Amanda Hernandez, made the defense’s first closing statement.
“We want to believe anyone who says they’re a victim, but we also don’t want an innocent man convicted of something terrible,” Hernandez told the jury.
Hernandez emphasized she took no joy “in getting up here and telling you (the complainant) isn’t telling the truth.”
Hernandez also questioned the sheriff’s office investigation of the case, which had been led by Val Verde Sheriff’s Office Lt. Gina Garcia, saying Barrera “always wanted to meet with law enforcement” investigating the 15-year-old girl’s allegation, but that such a meeting never happened.
“There are two sides to every story, and we appreciate you listening to ours,” Hernandez said.
Hernandez’s co-counsel, Don Flanary, addressed the jury as well.
“Five hundred and ninety-nine days. That’s the number of days Gilberto Barrera has waited for his day in court, 599 days that he’s been waiting to get justice,” Flanary told the jury.
He, too, said his office had sent letters to the sheriff’s office investigator, asking for a meeting, but no meeting every materialized.
Flanary characterized the investigation as unfair and told the jury, “If this can happen to a federal agent (Barrera is a Border Patrol agent), it can happen to you. So how do you send a message to law enforcement? By your verdict.”
“Do you doubt the allegations? There’s clearly doubt, and if you’re not sure that equals not guilty,” Flanary said.
Because the state carries the burden of proof in criminal cases, Shawver-Savino spoke to the jury last.
She said Barrera’s attorneys blamed law enforcement, blamed the complainant’s biological father and blamed the complainant.
Shawver-Savino told jurors a guilty verdict would “hold Gilberto Barrera accountable because the people who were supposed to protect (the complainant) chose not to.”
“Ultimately, it will come down to who you believe, and we ask that you find the defendant guilty,” Shawver-Savino said.
After about an hour of deliberations, the jury foreman sent a written note to the judge through the court bailiff, asking a series of five questions about specific facts to which various witnesses had testified.
After conferring with both sets of attorneys, Cadena sent a written note back with the bailiff: “The evidence is before you. Continue to deliberate.”
After another hour had elapsed, the jury foreman sent another note, asking, “If a decision is not made soon, do we have the option to continue tomorrow?”
Cadena again conferred with the attorneys and sent back his answer: “You should continue to deliberate.”
Just before 7 p.m. Wednesday, the jury foreman hailed the bailiff and told him the jury had reached a verdict.
After everyone had reassembled in the courtroom, including the complainant, her biological father and about a dozen members of Barrera’s family, Cadena admonished those watching that there would be no emotional demonstrations when the verdict was read.
Cadena asked Barrera and his attorneys to stand and face the jury and asked the jury foreman to stand and read the verdict – not guilty.
Shawver-Savino asked that the jury be polled, and each member said his or her verdict was not guilty.
Cadena thanked the jurors.
“We appreciate your service. I know this was a difficult decision,” Cadena said.
Cadena then had Barrera and his attorneys approach the bench. He told Barrera he had been acquitted of the charge against him and informed him that his attorneys have 30 days to file for an expunction of his record.
As Flanary left the courtroom, he told the 830 Times, “We’re just happy that justice was done. We’re proud of this Val Verde County jury that did the right thing.”
“Gilberto was an innocent man, and after 599 days, on the 600th day, he gets to be free, gets to go home, and he gets to get his job back with the Border Patrol, and that’s very important to him. It’s very important to him to get his retirement, which was held in limbo, and he gets to restore his name,” Flanary said.
District Attorney Suzanne West told the 830 Times after the verdict, “We don’t always get the outcome we hoped for, but we can’t stop fighting for the children in our community. And we won’t stop admiring the bravery of victims who have an uphill battle when it’s the word of a child versus an adult.
“It’s devastating when a jury trial ends in a not guilty verdict, but my office is intensely grateful to the jurors who spent hours in difficult deliberation and days involved in the criminal justice process. Thanks to all partners involved in this case, and to my staff especially,” West said.
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