The suspension of a Texas Ranger following the Uvalde shooting is causing criminal proceedings in South Texas to fall apart.
One of the hundreds of cops that rushed to the May 24 mass shooting, Texas Ranger Christopher Ryan Kindell, was suspended by the Texas Department of Public Safety. As a result, criminal cases he investigated are in peril, and experts have questioned the rationale behind his suspension.
Defence lawyer Leigh Cutter received a text from Uvalde County District Attorney Christina Mitchell late on September 8, just hours after they had worked out a plea agreement for a teenage client charged with capital murder: “I need to disclose something to you.” Give me a call as soon as you can.
Mitchell gave a startling revelation over the phone: Christopher Ryan Kindell, the Texas Ranger who had led the investigation into Cutter’s client, had been suspended while his involvement in the law enforcement response to the horrific mass shooting at Robb Elementary School, which claimed the lives of 19 students and two teachers, was being looked into by the Texas Department of Public Safety, which is in charge of the Rangers.
Cutter believed that Mitchell’s crucial witness was tainted by the suspension, which the prosecutor was legally obligated to reveal to the defence. She informed Mitchell that her client would turn down the plea bargain and face trial on allegations that in 2019 he shot and killed Uvalde boxer John VanMeter at the age of 12.
Five days later, Cutter and her co-counsel, Mary Pietrazek, engaged Mitchell in heated talks while prospective jurors awaited their turn in the courtroom. Ultimately, a six-year sentence was agreed upon, which was one year shorter than the original agreement. The defendant’s court file is sealed because he is a juvenile, so the move was important since it would allow him to be released before turning 18 and prevent him from being sent to an adult prison. The San Antonio Express-News broke the story of the plea agreement first.
Pietrazek described Mitchell as someone who “seemed like she really wanted to resolve the case.”
Mitchell dropped charges of aggravated sexual abuse of a child against a husband and wife, who Kindell had also looked into, less than a month later. The district attorney stated in an email to The Texas Tribune that she intended to re-indict the defendants despite citing a number of factors, including Ranger Kindell’s suspension.
Kindell’s job as a Uvalde-based Texas Ranger is to support Uvalde and neighbouring Real County law enforcement agencies in their efforts to apprehend serious criminals. Records from the Department of Public Safety show that he has 50 ongoing investigations in 10 counties. His ongoing investigations in Uvalde range from attempted capital murder to governmental oppression.
