Angela Overman, district attorney for the 286th District Court, provided an update on pending capital murder cases and levied a request for $250,000 in American Rescue Plan Act funding at the Hockley County Commissioners Court meeting, Monday.
First, Overman provided an update on the submission of a grant to the Texas Governor’s Office for $1 million to assist in funding an upcoming capital murder trial.
She said the request would assist in funding one trial, of four, which are currently pending in the 286th District Court.
This request would pertain to the trial of Omar Soto-Chavira, the suspect who was arrested following a stand-off with police in July 2021 that resulted in the death of Sgt. Joshua Bartlett of the Lubbock County Sheriff’s Office. Sergeant Shawn Wilson, with the Levelland Police Department, was critically injured during the incident and three Lubbock County deputies were also injured.
Overman said if the district attorney’s office is awarded the grant, it would not cover the entire expense of the trial, which she has estimated in the past to cost upwards of $2 million.
The grant only covers the district attorney office’s costs and doesn’t cover costs for indigent defense, for which the county would be responsible. However, she added that if the county extends ARPA funding, the district attorney’s office could “pay the county back.”
Overman said the majority of the expenses that the district attorney’s office will incur for this trial are related to experts. Additionally, Overman said there will possibly be a change of venue, resulting in additional costs.
This led to the next item on the commissioners’ agenda Monday, a request for $250,000 in ARPA funding for experts in the capital murder trial.
Overman said she has identified one expert in particular that will assist in the punishment phase of the trial.
“He is a strong forensic psychiatrist with a strong background,” Overman said. “We can foresee what their defenses are going to be, mental claims, intellectual disability and insanity.”
She added that in a death penalty case, the supreme court will not uphold the death penalty verdict if the defendant is intellectually disabled.
“I do know we need to start getting him evaluated pretty quickly,” Overman said.
Sharla Baldridge, county judge, asked whether Overman had “shopped around” for other psychiatrists with a less expensive price tag.
Overman said she had, but she wanted to ensure her expert wouldn’t back down and would stand beside their claims.
“If you’re going to give your opinion on something they need to stand by it,” Overman said.
Larry Carter, commissioner for Precinct No. 2, asked if the expert’s fee was $250,000 and if that amount would cover the expert fully.
Overman explained the $250,000 is an estimate for what it is going to cost to hire the expert and said the estimate doesn’t include meals, lodging, or travel for the expert.
“They’re expensive,” Overman said. “I’ve got to be equipped.”
Baldridge said that while she and the court understand the district attorney’s need to be fully prepared for prosecution, the commissioners have a responsibility to the tax payers.
“We need to think about it, we need to be prudent in what we’re deciding here,” Baldridge said.
Overman reiterated that the reason the cost is higher than what a typical expert in a trial might charge is because of the level of scrutiny and attention to detail that is required of an expert in a death penalty case.
Baldridge said that she was worried that with Overman proposing $250,000 for one expert, that she would end up needing $500,000 for two experts and so on.
“I asked for more than $700,000 for expert fees alone,” Overman said.
Some of the experts she listed included a scene reconstructionist, an officerinvolved shooting expert, a sociological expert, two psychiatrists and a litigation expert.
“It added up quick,” Overman said.
Baldridge asked Overman if the county didn’t have the ARPA funding available, where would she turn to pay for the capital murder case trials.
“One county had to raise citizen taxes and basically curtail employee raises,” Overman said.
Regardless, Overman said the experts she is requesting in this case will help in the punishment phase of the trial.
“It’s a factor,” Oveman said. Additionally, the defendant in this capital murder trial is indigent, meaning the county will also pay for the defense fees.
“When people ask what do you do with the tax dollars I tell them to look at the indigent defense costs,” Baldridge said. “It’s an unfunded mandate that isn’t going to change unless you contact your legislators. Indigent defense is a huge hole in our pocket here.”
The commissioners decided to table action on awarding ARPA funding to the district attorney’s office. The judge and commissioners agreed they would prefer to hear whether the office receives the $1 million grant from the governor’s office before making a decision on the ARPA funding.