“Downfall: Corruption Inside Precinct 2”
INVESTIGATIVE CATEGORY
KSAT-TV
03/26/2021
Unfortunately, it doesn’t happen as often as it should: One reporter on the trail of one subject, day after day, month after month, even for years.
But that’s what happened when Dillon Collier started reporting on problems and possible corruption inside the Bexar County Precinct 2 Constable’s office.
What he revealed with report after report was stupefying: Deputies being harassed and even sexually harassed; The wrongful and very public arrest of a deputy who was also a political opponent; Public money and manpower repeatedly used for personal reasons; Officers ‘shaking down’ the public for cash.
And at the center of it all was Constable Michelle Barrientes Vela, who not only knew about these events, but ordered and even participated in them.
Eventually, Collier’s reporting became too much to ignore and the state Texas Rangers started a criminal investigation, raiding the Constable’s office. That led to a “Downfall”: Her removal from office and, eventually, felony charges against her and a Precinct Captain. They are both currently awaiting trial.
1. The Investigative Trail
It all started as a few stories on the improper use of taxpayer funds, but eventually bloomed into the biggest public corruption case in San Antonio in decades. And for nearly 3 years KSAT-TVs investigative reporter Dillon Collier was the only journalist on the topic. In fact, it was Dillon's digging that uncovered what was going on at Precinct 2 and led to the opening of criminal investigations. At the center of it all was a politician and official of the 'modern' breed: Someone making up the rules as they went along, willing to say almost anything, deny any documentation and even her own words to escape responsibility.
2. The Objective
Collier soon sensed that what at first seemed to be just tax dollar waste was actually a much deeper trail of corruption and that it involved abusing her deputies and extorting the public. At that point, the KSAT investigative team launched a consistent day-in and day-out effort at working sources and filing open records requests to get the full-picture that her staff was telling us about so we could reveal it to the public.
3. The Obstacles
Barrientes Vela’s disregard for the law was at the core of our story, but it also became an ongoing obstacle to our investigation. Take simple records requests: Early on, Constable Michelle Barrientes Vela wanted them submitted through Bexar County’s Open Records online portal. By the second year of our investigation, Vela decided that she wanted them submitted directly to her via email. She also wanted us to not include county spokespersons on any of our back and forth communication. Finally, in the third year of our broadcasts and as other local officials had to start taking notice, Vela now demanded that Collier hand deliver any records requests directly to her, at her Precinct 2 offices. All of these 'hoops' were required by the Constable, even though they were clear cut violations of the Texas Public Information Act.
But the Precinct 2 was also pro-active in her attempts to shut down Collier's investigation, including the use of threats and intimidation:
Repeated calls were made to KSAT management to get them to discontinue his reporting. Barrientes Vela also repeatedly accused Collier of being prejudiced against Hispanic women, even though Collier is married to one with whom he has a daughter.
Collier received constant harassment online from Vela and her supporters in an attempt to shoot down KSAT's reporting.
Collier was struck in the head with a bottle thrown by a Vela supporter in October 2020. The incident happened after a county press conference about removing Barrientes Vela from office.
Collier's photographer Joshua Saunders was tripped by a Barrientes Vela family member in May 2021, prior to a court appearance for her public corruption case.
4. Sourcing
Our reporting on Barrientes Vela started in 2017. She had just been elected to the Constable's office and holdover deputies from the previous administration quickly became unhappy with how she was running the Precinct. They, as tends to be the case, were not employed long, which made it more difficult to gather information about the Constable's operation. But with persistence and time, Collier developed sources there that were both civilian and deputies. The one common message from all of them was simple: They believed she was out of control and that frightened them.
They helped steer him toward solid documentation of some of the problems that worried them.
5. The Extra Mile
However our efforts required something more. To track down the Constable's comings and goings Collier crossed Texas, including to Corpus Christi and Austin, sites of law enforcement conferences taxpayers paid for that she did not attend.
A variety of records were also used in our reporting on Barrientes Vela's corruption including:
Undercover cell phone video recorded by her deputies
Body-worn camera footage
Bexar County Jail surveillance video
Bexar County District Court civil lawsuits-Bexar County Grand Jury indictments -Bexar County District Clerk Spanish Archives Division records
Bexar County auditor records -Federal civil rights lawsuits -Texas Rangers search warrants
6. The Future
Again, ex-Constable Barrientes Vela and ex-Precinct Captain Marc D. Garcia were charged with various forms of felony public corruption and we have been covering their preliminary court proceedings which began in January 2022.
In addition, Collier and KSAT-TV continue to discover more acts of corruption and extortion committed by Barrientes Vela while in office.
Some of this reporting is attached as a supplement to our awards entry.
LINK to content online
Supplementary Reporting
LINK to PDF
LINK 2 to PDF
LINK 3 to PDF
LINK 4 to PDF
Submitted by David Razio.