On the night of March 10, 2014, someone blasted Desiree’s Gentlemen’s Club with .45 caliber ACP bullets. Monday, in the 391st District Court with Judge Jay Weatherby presiding, jury selection and a trial commenced to determine if 31-year-old Anthony Walters did it.
According to the prosecution, Walters, who is from Wharton County near Houston, was working in Big Lake in the oilfield. On the day of the incident, it was his day off and he traveled to San Angelo with a friend who he met on the job. Walters only knew his buddy for four days. When the two arrived in San Angelo, they spent some time at Twin Peaks Restaurant drinking before heading over to San Angelo’s only nude strip club, Desiree’s Gentlemen’s Club.
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Above: A bullet hole in a Desiree's patron's car Monday night, Mar. 10, 2014. (LIVE! Photo/John Basquez)
The two spent several hours there drinking, Assistant DA Richard Villarreal said. Sometime between 10:50 p.m. and 11 p.m., the duo was asked to leave the club. And they did.
About 25 minutes later, San Angelo police were dispatched via 9-1-1 for a gunshots fired at Desiree’s.
Police found no one injured, but Villarreal said the investigation revealed bullet holes in the walls of the club and in a vehicle parked at the strip club.
On the day after the incident, SAPD said that between seven and 10 shots were fired at the club’s structure and some hit a late model black Chevrolet Camaro parked in Desiree’s lot. In the aftermath of the incident, the owners of Desiree’s embarked on a slight image change by repairing and repainting their building.
During the investigation, the DA said, police found Walter’s business card discarded in the parking lot, and a search was on.
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Above: Anthony Walters was arrested Mar. 11,2 014 in connection to the Desiree's shooting. (Photo courtesy of SAPD)
Police eventually found Walters through the company named on his business card, and the Reagan County Sheriff’s Office was asked to assist.
Two San Angelo police investigators made the 65-mile trip southwest to Big Lake and found Walters on the job site. They also found Walter’s late model Ford F-350 SuperCrew dually pickup.
Walter’s fiancé, Melanie Case, was also at the job site. Her late model Chevrolet Tahoe was parked next to Walter’s F-350.
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Above: Bullet hole in the door of the main entrance to Desiree's from Monday night's gun fire on Mar. 10, 2014. (LIVE! Photo/John Basquez)
Over the course of the investigation, Walter’s truck was searched and police found one unused bullet and several spent bullet casings inside Walter’s truck that matched the type of bullet casing found at Desiree’s—.45 cal. ACP. Inside Case’s Tahoe, police found a Springfield Arms .45 Caliber XD handgun tucked away in a compartment near the driver’s side rear wheel well.
Villarreal said that police obtained a confession from Walter that day.
For the defense, attorney Evan Pierce-Jones said in his opening statement that the confession was more or less coerced. He said that the person of interest originally was Jose Chino who was Walter’s companion and new friend who traveled with Walter from the job site in Big Lake to San Angelo and partied late into the night of March 10, 2014. “Do you realize that Jose Chino was the first one detained and questioned?” asked Pierce-Jones.
Pierce-Jones said that Chino denied all knowledge of the alleged incident initially. But soon, under police pressure, “gave it all up and accused Walters.”
That, the defense said, began pursuit and eventual interrogation of Walters.
“If you don’t confess, then you’re going to get the book,” Pierce-Jones described the initial interaction between San Angelo Police Detective Antoine Callum and Walters. “This is your last chance to tell us some truth,” the attorney attributed to Callum.
“Finally, Walters breaks down,” Piece-Jones described the interrogation. The defense said at that point, tired and despondent, Walters then admits, “I shot the gun!”
This was followed up by, “I said I did. In reality I don’t remember,” Pierce-Jones said Walters stated in the questioning.
The defense described the detective’s good cop, bad cop response. “That’s a good start. But don’t go backtracking on me,” Pierce-Jones said the detective replied.
Pierce-Jones, who has former police investigator James Johnson standing by for expert testimony, said that he will prove there was an improper comparison between the gun, bullets, and spent casings found in Big Lake with the similar items discovered in the parking lot of Desiree’s during the investigation. “The police didn’t follow the bullets, or see if even more bullets were fired,” Pierce-Jones said.
“By following the physical evidence, we will show that this confession was a false confession,” Pierce-Jones concluded.
The trial kicked off with 43 prospective jurors crammed into the small courtroom on the first floor of the Tom Green County Courthouse. The judge and DA assumed that jury selection would take less than half the morning and the trial would be underway right after lunch, if not before.
Pierce-Jones demanded that the jury be seated in order and each candidate be assigned a number. He wanted to better organize his part in shaping the jury. The judge allowed it, and jury selection continued until 5 p.m. Monday.
During the questioning of jurors, Pierce-Jones uncovered the niece of the woman named Bertha Vasquez who was murdered at Eva’s Place in the 1000 block of Martin Luther King Dr. by a drive-by shooter on Feb. 1, 2015. She did not make the cut to the final 12.
The trial continues today.
Key stats:
- Leading the prosecution: Assistant DA Richard Villarreal
- Leading the defense: San Angelo Attorney Evan Pierce-Jones
- Judge presiding: Judge Jay Weatherby
- Jurisdiction: State of Texas 391st District Court
Other news stories about the Desiree’s Drive-By Shooting:
- Shots Fired at Desiree’s (initial report, Mar. 11, 2014)
- Desiree’s Shooter Apprehended (Mar. 17, 2014)
- Desiree’s Shooter Fired .45 Cal. Bullets (Mar. 11, 2014)
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