El Paso DA: Office did not decline EPPD case about alleged misuse of city gas cards
EL PASO, Texas (CBS4) — El Paso District Attorney Bills Hicks addressed conflicting information about an El Paso Police Department report that looked into the allegations of excessive use of city-issued gas cards by Rep. Cassandra Hernandez and former Rep. Claudia Rodriguez.
A copy of the police report obtained by CBS4 states the case was closed when no criminal activity was uncovered and that the DA's office declined to investigate the case.
The investigating officer asked Assistant District Attorney Doug Tiemann for guidance about the case, according to the police report.
The report says Tiemann advised the officer that the incident did not meet the elements required for a criminal offense.
Additionally, the report mentions that Tiemann informed investigators that if the case were presented in its current form, it would be declined due to the absence of necessary elements.
"The chief of the unit [ADA Tiemann] never specifically told him that we were not going to prosecute," Hicks said. "The detective, misunderstood or miscommunicated what was being related and we ended up with the detective saying that the District Attorney’s Office had indicated that there was no evidence of a crime here.”
"The chief [ADA Tiemann] never explicitly stated that we wouldn't pursue prosecution," said Hicks. "The detective misunderstood or miscommunicated the information, leading to the erroneous claim that the District Attorney’s Office indicated a lack of evidence for a crime."
Hicks said if Tiemann had wanted to decline the case, he is not authorized to do so without it first being presented to the DA's office.
"Once entered into our system, we have our procedure that we go through where if cases are declined then they are declined within the computer system," said Hicks.
CBS4 also reached out to the police department and the City of El Paso's public information officer about the report. We did not get a response in time for this report.
This story will be updated when we hear back.
KFOX14/CSB4 reached out to the police department and the city about the report.
The City of El Paso's spokesperson said: " The City respectfully declines an on-camera interview on this topic as the police report outlines all the details regarding the police investigation."
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