Hockley County approves new prosecutor plan

The Hockley County Commissioners Court and 286th Judicial District Attorney Angela Overman met again during a Monday meeting to discuss alternative plans for the prosecution of the capital murder trial of Omar Soto-Chavira.

Overman was tasked with providing alternative prosecution plans to the court following the rejection of a contract that would have had the commissioners approving an expense of $560,000 to bring on former Lubbock County prosecutors Tray Payne and Matt Powell to prosecute the case for a flat fee which would include a team of experts from their firm during the May 13 meeting.

With the DA’s office securing a state grant for roughly $733,000 to cover prosecution expenses, the contract provided by Payne and Powell was deemed unreasonable by the council and was rejected. Issues with when payment would be distributed and who was responsible for logging in information to meet grant requirements left the commissioners with more questions than answers, Moving forward with presenting a different solution, Overman presented items to the court beginning with former Lubbock County Criminal Prosecutor Barron Slack assisting with the initial capital murder trial. The second item was having Wade Jackson, a former South Plains district attorney, helping with any appeals that may arise from the case.

For the services of Slack, the sum to be paid will total $300,000, while the sum for Jackson’s services will be $125,000. A brief discussion between the two prosecutors and the court was had about payment structure and how the contracts bear out those details. Both Slack and Jackson stated they were comfortable with the structured payment plan which includes a final payment at the conclusion of the case.

Addressing the previous concerns about who would be responsible for tracking necessary items for the grant requirements, Overman added that she would be responsible for tracking billable hours in coordination with the new attorneys.

Details about the case logistics were also discussed as Councilman Alan Wisdom shared his concerns about how fast the grant money will be used. The commissioners also expressed concerns about how much moving the trial to Lubbock will cost. Court security was one example discussed is it is believed that the desire is to have roughly 15 deputies for security during the trial at all times.

Overman explained that applying for additional funding is also an option, however, she will have to seek clarification if court costs will be allowed to be paid with the grant funding as it is geared to prosecution only by her understanding.

An additional question posed was the longevity of the case. Slack explained that jury selection and discovery will be the major portions of the case that will require more time. It was added that jury selection could take the better part of weeks before the ball gets rolling with the possibility of the case rolling over into 2025.

While that may be only a possibility, Overman explained that she is taking steps to make the transition seamless if the case rolls into the next year as Donnie Yandell will be taking over the DA’s office.