SAPD officers Castro & Villarreal, Vindicated! D.A. Gonzales, Exposed, again.
As concerned Americans focus on the sham Trump trial in New York, another politically motivated trial has been unfolding in San Antonio regarding two San Antonio police officers.
On Friday, May 31, the Bexar County prosecutors dismissed the remaining charges against San Antonio Police Officer Carlos Castro. Last November, Castro’s partner, Officer Thomas Villarreal Officer Villarreal had the charges against him dismissed after the D.A.’s prosecutors determined there was insufficient evidence in the case. Both good officers had to endure over three years of personal agony and economic suffering, thanks to a “George Soros-funded” D.A. who has weaponized the justice system against the police.
The charges brought against officers Castro and Villarreal by D.A. Gonzales’s “Civil Rights Division” is a shameful story of the manipulation of justice by liberal, leftist, anti-police forces.
Background
On January 16, 2020, four months before the George Floyd incident and riots, officers Castro and Villarreal arrested Eric Wilson on suspicion of evading arrest and possession of a controlled substance. Wilson had a lengthy criminal history in Bexar County, dating back to 1988, including a murder conviction in 1988. At the time of his arrest, Wilson was on federal probation.
The Incident
That night, officers pulled over a car traveling 48 mph, 13 miles over the speed limit, on North Walters Street on the East Side. The vehicle also failed to signal before turning onto Lamar Street, police said.
Wilson pulled into a driveway, exited the vehicle, and walked away from police officers. The officers noted a strong odor of marijuana coming from inside the car.
Another man, Eddie Wilson, came out of the house to talk to the officers and was warned against hindering their arrest of Eric Wilson. As officers detained Eddie Wilson, Eric Wilson walked into the home and closed the door on the police officers.
Officers Villarreal and Castro entered the house, and Eric Wilson began to fight and resist arrest. The officers unsuccessfully used their taser, and Wilson might reach for a weapon. They punched him repeatedly until they were able to handcuff him. Both officers had Eric Wilson’s blood on their bodies, according to the police report. Villarreal sustained a bruised hand from the incident.
Body Cam Evidence
Body-worn camera footage confirms the officers’ report. It shows Wilson exiting his vehicle, ignoring the officers’ commands to stop before eventually barricading himself in his home. Officers attempted to kick in the door, but Wilson resisted those efforts.
Wilson partially opens the door as officers order him to show his hands. The video shows an officer deploying a Taser through the door opening, contacting Wilson before Wilson shuts the door. Officers are then seen forcing their way into the home, striking Wilson as he resists being handcuffed.
Black Lives Matter Backlash
Four months later, on May 25, 2020, the George Floyd riots against police began raging across the country, including here in San Antonio. Liberal/leftist politicians and community leaders demanded police accountability and the defunding of police departments. At one city council meeting, the entire San Antonio City Council, except for city council member Clayton Perry, knelt to honor George Floyd – as per the demands of Black Lives Matter activists.
Sources within the SAPD say that Villarreal and Castor were told they would be disciplined but not seriously over the incident. However, after the riots and lobbying by BLM activists, they were offered up as “political sacrifices.” City officials, including SAPD leaders, feared a public relations backlash from radical leftist community leaders and the local liberal mainstream new media. They were fired and later indicted for “aggravated assault by a public servant.”
Charged by the George Soros-funded D.A.
In early 2021, in reaction to the national anti-police movement, the George Soros-funded Bexar County District Attorney, Joe Gonzales, created a Civil Rights Division. The division handles officer-involved shootings and allegations of excessive force against law enforcement.
In December 2021, officers Villareal and Castro were charged with aggravated assault by a public servant, a first-degree felony, sources confirmed on Thursday. As in many liberal-run communities, the justice system was politicized and weaponized against police officers.
Thus began a nightmare for two police officers who, as facts showed, were only doing their job.
The D.A.’s Leftist Political Case Unravels
While the two officers suffered public humiliation and economic loss, the Bexar County D.A.’s office began to experience problems that exposed how he politicized and weaponized the county justice system against the officers.
After bringing charges against Villarreal, Castro, and another SAPD officer in two different trials, the D.A.’s Civil Rights Division had both cases end in a mistrial for violating Brady’s evidence rules. Danny Diaz, president of the San Antonio Police Officers Association (SAPOA), has asked if those cases were legitimate or politically motivated to satisfy anti-police radicals and questioned whether, if evidence was withheld, the officers should have been charged in the first place.
In 2024, it was also discovered in a series of news articles by KSAT News that D.A. Gonzales had consulted with a radical leftist legal advisory group about how to prosecute police officers and how to manage the publicity.
In November 2023, Officer Villarreal had his charge of aggravated assault by a public servant dismissed after the D.A.’s prosecutors determined there was insufficient evidence in the case. The man had to endure three years of personal agony, thanks to a “George Soros-funded” D.A. who has weaponized the justice system against the police.
The latest dismissal of Officer Castro’s charge of assault causing bodily injury is the latest setback for the Bexar County District Attorney Office’s Civil Rights Division. Since its creation in 2020 after the George Floyd riots, in an apparent response to the anti-police political agenda of leftists and liberals, it has head-hunted for police to prosecute.
Officer Castro’s attorneys confirmed to the news media that this dismissal came on the eve of a hearing scheduled for Monday in the 379th District Court to determine whether prosecutors intentionally concealed evidence in the case. That shows how Gonzales’ office was about to be further embarrassed.
Castro’s attorney, Nico LaHood, stated it clearly. He said, “If our motion, stating misconduct by the District Attorney’s office, were without merit, the state would have fought it. Instead, they finally admitted they could not meet their burden. We have known what they have discovered on the eve of the hearing the entire time.”
Attorneys for a third ex-SAPD officer, Oscar Cruz Jr., have filed a similar motion in his case, accusing the DA’s office of withholding evidence that would have set their client free.
The dismissal comes after a four-and-a-half-year legal ordeal for Castro and Villarreal. Both have been cleared of criminal wrongdoing and will seek reinstatement as police officers through arbitration. Many believe SAPD leadership treated them as scapegoats in the wake of the George Floyd riots.
Conclusion
These two good police officers were put through a wringer under the guise of police accountability, criminal reform, and social justice by the Soros-bought Bexar County DA Joe Gonzalez. For four years, these officers lived with uncertainty and fear that they would become convicted criminals and go to prison. Also, during that time, they had to figure out how to make a living to feed their families and pay for their defense.
The officers performed their duties as expected on that fateful night, and their actions were justified under the law. Yet they were still charged with felonies and fired all to make political points. They arrested a repeat offender who was a convicted murderer/federal felon who was on federal supervised release and high on cocaine, and who was DWI, a narcotics dealer, and a street gang member.
However, the message that has been sent to every police officer is that they are not immune from the liberal/leftist/racist politicized, weaponized justice system implemented by D.A. Joe Gonzales. Thanks to “Let ’em Go” Joe Gonzales, many repeat offenders are running free and committing crimes while police officers walk on eggshells and are fearful of being prosecuted.
Gonzales must be removed or recalled.