Behold the Quality of our State Prosecutors, Annabell Perez

Editor's note: Here is a letter I have written to Asst. County Attorney Annabell Perez regarding her conduct on the ongoing saga of the Alberto Ocegueda child molestation accusation and illegal expunction of his arrest records.


Theresa Caballero
Attorney at Law
300 E. Main St., Suite 1136
El Paso, TX 79901
915.566.0229
915.562.5250 fax


October 3, 2008


County Attorney’s Office
Ms. Annabell Perez
500 E. San Antonio St.
El Paso, TX 79901

Re: Cause No. 2008-1016 and 2007-2768


Dear Ms. Perez:

Your letter to Judge Pendergrass, wherein you state, in direct contravention of Judge Pendergrass’ order, that you are directing your client, District Clerk Gilbert Sanchez, to turn over, not the entire files in both cause numbers to us, but rather only certain orders and pleadings, forms the basis of our motion to have you and your client held in contempt. Judge Pendergrass was very clear when he wrote that the entirety of both files should be turned over to Mr. Leeds and me as the attorneys of record. Judge Pendergrass did not order that only select documents as defined by you are what are to be turned over to us. But you know that.

On September 2, 2008, Mr. Leeds and I personally requested of Mr. Sanchez copies of the orders signed by Judge Pendergrass. Sanchez told us that the County Attorney’s office had told him not to give them to us or to even file the orders. Early this week, long after Judge Pendergrass directed your client to give us the contents of those files, we submitted a formal request in writing to see those files. We have yet to hear from Mr. Sanchez giving us access to those files. It is now October 3, 2008 and astonishingly, we, as attorneys of record, still do not have copies of Judge Pendergrass’ orders or have access to the files.

While it is disappointing to see that your client Sanchez has yet to comply with Judge Pendergrass’ directives, and that you have put in writing that as his attorney you are advising him to only partially comply with the Court’s orders, it is not surprising. An attorney should never have to go to court to get a sitting District Clerk to file an order. Nor should an attorney have to contend with an assistant county attorney who, in her capacity as head of the expunction unit, both agrees to an illegal expunction of an alleged child molester’s records on behalf of the State of Texas but then advises a government official not to turn over the attorney’s own files to her. And if Gilbert Sanchez is to be believed, it was your office that advised him not to FILE Judge Pendergrass’ order undoing the illegal expunction. It is a strange world we live in indeed, when defense attorneys in private practice have to seek the protection of the courts to prevent public records from being illegally secreted and destroyed while the attorney’s representing the State do not do so. Not only do the attorneys who pretend to represent the State not do so but they agree to false pleadings seeking to destroy such public records and move to delay orders correcting the false pleadings.

Suffice it to say, Mr. Leeds and I expected nothing less than the conduct you have displayed in this case. We have dealt with you and your office far too long to have harbored any illusions that you would act otherwise. Therefore no phone calls from us to you would ever resolve the fundamental problems and lack of honesty that are at issue here. The law does not contemplate such an absurdity.

You have long served as the attorney for District Attorney Jaime Esparza on his numerous lawsuits. The case at bar concerns the arrest records of your client’s long time friend and brother of his personal secretary. In order to avoid even the appearance of impropriety, the possible reflection that you are doing your friend and former employer Esparza’s family friends a favor by allowing the unit you personally supervise to agree to this illegal expunction, you should have, at the very least, removed yourself from this matter. And more importantly, you should have joined in our efforts to protect the integrity of the law and the stake that the People of Texas have in preserving public records. Who pray tell, besides Mr. Leeds and myself, are protecting the rights of the citizens of Texas to have access to Mr. Alberto Ocegueda’s records? That is really the job of you and your office, not the private bar. The People of the State of Texas are without a prosecutor in this sordid affair. You should have been the prosecutor protecting them and the law.

I recently litigated an expunction I had filed on behalf of a client. An attorney from the expunction unit you personally supervise came in and fought me tooth and nail arguing that the statute of limitations had not run on my client’s case, arguing that she did not fall under an exception and that therefore she was not entitled to an expunction. The fact that my client did fall under an exception as evidenced by the court paperwork and was by law entitled to an expunction, mattered not to your attorney. Fortunately for my client, the court followed the law and the evidence and agreed with us and you lost. What is more telling by this case is that when it comes to your friends and your friends’ friends, limitations and exceptions matter not. When it comes to the average El Pasoan without connections, your position is brutal and also not in keeping with state law. Those who are entitled to expunctions have to fight for them and those who are not entitled but who are connected don’t have to fight and get them anyway. It is an upside down world indeed.

On the record, Mr. Leeds and I look forward to an explanation from you as to why you agreed to expunge Ocegueda’s records when the law clearly barred an expunction. On the record, we look forward to hearing from you as to why you told Gilbert Sanchez to turn over only part of the file when in fact the judge ordered that he turn over the entire file to us. On the record, we look forward to hearing from you as to why you did not disqualify yourself from representing Mr. Sanchez who has refused to follow Judge Pendergrass’ orders as they relate to us. On the record, we look forward to hearing from you on these and other related matters. We are very interested in what you have to say.

Sincerely,



Theresa Caballero


Stuart Leeds


Cc: Judge Carl Pendergrass; Joe Spencer