Defense files motion to quash Oakley indictment at first hearing

Burnet County Judge James Oakley had his first day in court on a recent grand jury indictment. A status hearing on the case was Monday, April 3, at the Burnet County Courthouse Annex in Burnet. The presiding judge took a defense motion to quash under advisement and set deadlines for both the defense and the prosecution to submit their arguments before the next status hearing, which is 2:30 p.m. April 24 at the annex, 1701 E. Polk St.

Oakley’s indictment came down on March 7. He was charged with three misdemeanors and a felony in connection to alleged abuses of power and tampering with evidence. The felony and one misdemeanor are connected to a 2021 vehicle accident. The other two misdemeanors concern his dual duties as county judge and District 5 director on the Pedernales Electric Cooperative board.

The motion to quash, or throw out, the indictment came prior to the status hearing. The motion was taken under advisement by presiding Judge Dib Waldrip and could be addressed during the next status hearing.

Waldrip is the 433rd judicial district judge in Comal County and the 3rd administrative judicial region judge. He stepped in to oversee the case due to the recusal of both 33rd District Judge J. Allan Garrett and 424th District Judge Evan Stubbs.

Waldrip set a deadline of April 14 for the defense to submit its brief and April 21 for the prosecution. The briefs are comprehensive written arguments and supporting documents that will back the positions of each party. In this case, the defense will argue to quash the indictment, while the prosecution will argue to move forward in the case.

Depending upon the judge’s ruling, the charges could be amended, totally thrown out, or the case could move forward in court.

The indictment against Oakley originally consisted of four separate charges, or counts:

• Count 1— Abuse of Official Capacity related to holding a paid position as both county judge and Pedernales Electric Cooperative director.
• Count 2 — Abuse of Official Capacity related to using a county-owned vehicle to attend several PEC meetings.
• Count 3 — A third-degree felony charge of tampering with/fabricating physical evidence with intent to impair related to moving a bumper after an April 2021 traffic accident.
• Count 4 — Official Oppression charges that allege Oakley subjected one of the people involved in the accident “to mistreatment that the Defendant (Oakley) knew was unlawful” by moving the bumper.

District Attorney Wiley “Sonny” McAfee of the 33rd and 424th judicial districts dismissed the official oppression charge and adjusted it to a new, slightly different official oppression charge, which now will be handled separately from the other charges.

Oakley’s attorney, John Carsey of Minton, Bassett, Flores & Carsey P.C. in Austin, argued that the prosecution’s charges didn’t have adequate language or properly address the alleged violations.

Carsey’s argument focused on the precise language of the felony charge that refers to the crime scene as a “thing” that can be tampered with, which he said isn’t correct.

“You can’t tamper with something as ethereal as a crime scene,” he said. “If they want to say he tampered with the bumper, that’s a whole different thing.”

McAfee disagreed, citing cases where crime scenes were considered something that could be tampered with. Both the prosecution and the defense will use their briefs to address these arguments and establish their positions for the judge.

“It is my understanding that the visiting judge is taking the motion to quash under advisement and is expecting briefs to be filed next week,” Oakley told DailyTrib.com after the hearing. “I’m eager to move forward in the process.”

dakota@thepicayune.com