OZONA, TX — The district attorney criticized for tardiness in indicting criminals and unresponsiveness to inquiries suffered a resounding defeat in Tuesday's Republican Primary. Laurie K. English, the 112th District Attorney of Ozona, faced significant backlash for the lengthy delay in indicting the coyote accused of recklessly running through an Ozona stoplight, resulting in a collision with a pickup truck driven by Maria Tambunga, who was accompanied by her 7-year-old granddaughter Emilia, tragically leading to their deaths in March 2023.
It took Ms. English several months to indict the accused coyote, Rassian Nateray Comer, aged 21, for the deaths of both the Tambungas and two other individuals he was reportedly transporting. Comer faced four counts of felony murder, a first-degree felony; manslaughter, a second-degree felony; and criminally negligent homicide with a deadly weapon, a third-degree felony. The two migrants who lost their lives were identified as Ignacio Coca Guzman and Rodrigo Soriano Santiago, both reportedly in their 40s.
Ms. English declined to offer any explanation for the delay in issuing indictments despite repeated inquiries in the weeks following the tragic incident.
The prolonged wait for an indictment in the highly publicized Tambunga case, coupled with a lack of transparency, heightened existing concerns about the efficiency of Ms. English's office. In 2019, CBS7, an Odessa TV station, encountered difficulties obtaining information regarding the absence of charges in the case of a 22-year-old Fort Stockton man who was struck by a pickup truck and subsequently succumbed to his injuries in the parking lot of a Fort Stockton car wash.
Challenged by Reagan County attorney Stephen Dodd in last Tuesday's primary, Ms. English suffered a decisive defeat, with Dodd securing over 70 percent of the vote.
| CANDIDATE NAME | PARTY | EARLY VOTES | TOTAL VOTES | PERCENT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| STEPHEN DODD | REP | 1,670 | 2,758 | 70.59% |
| LAURIE K. ENGLISH (I) | REP | 644 | 1,149 | 29.41% |
Here are the election returns by county:
| County | Precinct Reporting | STEPHEN DODD | LAURIE K. ENGLISH (I) | Total Votes | Total Voters | Turnout | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Early Votes | Total Votes | Early Votes | Total Votes | |||||
| All COUNTIES | 30 of 30 precinct reporting | 1,670 | 2,758 | 644 | 1,149 | 3,907 | 14,513 | 26.92% |
| CROCKETT | 5 of 5 precinct reporting | 254 | 399 | 114 | 205 | 604 | 2,223 | 27.17% |
| PECOS | 10 of 10 precinct reporting | 602 | 983 | 340 | 593 | 1,576 | 8,228 | 19.15% |
| REAGAN | 5 of 5 precinct reporting | 242 | 407 | 30 | 53 | 460 | 1,803 | 25.51% |
| SUTTON | 5 of 5 precinct reporting | 319 | 530 | 94 | 183 | 713 | 2,259 | 31.56% |
| UPTON | 5 of 5 precinct reporting | 253 | 439 | 66 | 115 | 554 | 0 | - |
The 112th District Attorney's office exercises jurisdiction over Sutton, Crockett, Reagan, Upton, and Pecos counties.
112th DA Laurie English of Ozona had not successfully pushed for an indictment of the coyote accused of causing fatal crash that killed 2 Ozona citizens, one a 7-year-old girl, that happened on March 13, 2023.
Subscribe to the LIVE! Daily
Required
Post a comment to this article here: