Court Hearing for Capital Murder Suspects Leads to New Representation

SAN ANGELO, TX - A court hearing regarding the State of Texas versus Gilberto Salvador Reyes and Erick Ramos, two men charged with capital murder, took place this morning to determine which attorney will represent them in the upcoming trial.

Reyes and Ramos are both on trial for their involvement in a drive-by shooting that occurred March 26, 2016 at 1145 East 22^nd.  They are charged with the involvement in the death of Juan Guerrero and Zane Lopez. For more stories on this topic, click here and here.

Judge Barbra Walther wanted to address Reyes about a change in representation because of the waiving of the death penalty that took place under the representation of regional defenders out of Lubbock. They can no longer represent Reyes going forward in the case due to the procedures of the trial.     

Attorney Evan Pierce-Jones was being considered to represent Reyes, but Walther wanted to have, on record, that Reyes knew that co-defendant Erick Ramos' parents had previously talked with Jones to see if he could represent him in the case. However, Jones never had any verbal or written communication with Ramos.

Reyes declared, on record, that he would not want Jones to represent him because of the conflict of interest.

Judge Walther said she will do her best to find a representative for Reyes, and noted that Jones was the last of seven qualified to represent him. She noted, however, that he will still have representation from the lawyers out of Lubbock until she signs off on the new attorney.