VON ORMY--The criminal cases against former Von Ormy Councilwomen Verna Hernandez, Jacqueline Goede and Carmina Aguilar were dismissed on Monday, August 1 due to an error in the indictment. An indictment is a written statement of the formal charges against a criminal defendant. The indictment as written alleged, among other things, that the three former Council members held a City Council meeting without a quorum, but it failed to state that a quorum is necessary for a City Council meeting to be valid. Attorneys for the former council members argued that the indictment was defective because it failed to list all of the elements of the crime being charged. The judge agreed and dismissed the case.
The Bexar County District Attorney's Office stated in a statement to the press that they are still able to correct the indictment and recharge the three former Council members and are reviewing the case to determine whether they will or will not.
Following a Texas Rangers investigation, the three former Councilwomen were indicted by a Bexar County Grand Jury and charged with violations of the Texas Open Meetings Act stemming from an October 15, 2014 meeting.
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