Trend Furniture Trial: Defense Requests Mistrial, Serrano Denies Plea Bargain

Mark Anthony Serrano kept his head hung down as he waited for attorneys to enter Judge Walther’s courtroom Wednesday morning; an expressionless stare setting in the 40-year-old defendant’s face.

Following a day-long recess after new evidence was submitted by the state Tuesday morning, defense council Shawntell McKillop stood before the court before the jury was seated and requested Judge Walther grant her a mistrial based on prosecutorial misconduct.

Five CDs were turned over to state prosecutor John Best on Monday evening containing recordings of interviews conducted by Tom Green County Sheriff’s Office (TGCSO) Detectives while Serrano was in custody.

Acording to McKillop, the recordings were in the Sheriff’s Office the whole time, meaning the state had access to the interviews long before the case came to trial.

“I obviously would have had a different trial strategy with regards to my opening statement [if they CDs had been submitted into evidence before the trial began],” McKillop stated.

In response to McKillop’s argument, Best stated that the interviews were saved on a file on a recording device that Detective Ray Mellas and the Sheriff’s Office both believed to have been deleted until Mellas discovered them Monday evening. He then immediately put them on discs and submitted them to the prosecution, Best said.

“We turned it over immediately,” Best explained to Judge Walther. “We don’t believe there’s been any intended misconduct on behalf of Detective Mellas. We don’t think that there’s anything on the recordings that isn’t in Mr. Mellas’ report, which was provided to Ms. McKillop.”

After Best had presented his arguments, McKillop stood up and stated an alternative. She asked that if a mistrial not be granted that the recordings be excluded from the trial.

On the recordings, McKillop asserted, are two contradictory statements given by Serrano that if she had known would be submitted as evidence, would have changed her overall strategy in the trial. There were also statements from co-defendants that could have been beneficial to her client, she said.

“I’d like to hear those audios too,” Serrano said to Judge Walther after she’d ruled to exclude them from the proceedings.

Walther looked at Serrano with a stern gaze and asked whether he’d listened to the recordings Tuesday during the recess.

“I thought we had a couple of days to hear them,” Serrano said. “I didn’t think I had to do it all in one day. I thought she was going to call me.”

The excuse was lost on the tenured Judge, who appeared unimpressed and stated that clear instructions had been given the day before. Serrano had chosen to not listen to the recordings.

After the business of the mistrial was done, Judge Walther asked if a new plea bargain had been offered. McKillop stated that the state had offered 12 years confinement in exchange for a guilty plea, but, against her advice, Serrano had denied the offer.

“Mr. Serrano was under the illusion that he would be granted a mistrial,” McKillop said. She further stated that his decision to deny the bargain was strongly against her advice, which she repeated multiple times.

Due to Serrano’s previous felony convictions, the punishment range for the trend Furniture theft charge lies between 25-99 years. Even if he’s not convicted of the crime, McKillop explained, the District Attorney may choosed to indict him on other offenses, such as organized crime and burglary, which with his priors, both would carry longer terms than the offer in the plea bargain.

Having explained the terms and various possibilities with her client, McKillop stated that he rejected all offers and countered with a suggestion of a year in county jail.

“Mr. Serrano, do you understand your options?” Judge Walther asked after McKillop’s detailed explanation.

“It’s kind of hard for me to understand. She didn’t—“ he paused in silence for several moments. “Yes.”

After Serrano’s position and the ruling on the mistrial and audio recordings had been clarified, the jury was seated at around just before 10 a.m. For the next hour and a half, Detective Ray Mellas testified from the witness stand, describing the findings of four searches conducted at different residences and buildings in San Angelo and pointing out items of stolen furniture on photos.

Mellas’ testimony on the searches proved to be a sticking point on Monday, which halted the proceedings until Judge Walther ruled that the information could be heard. At around 11:30 Wednesday, both attorneys finished their questioning and the court broke for lunch until 2:00 p.m.