Ray Zapata & John Young Finalize Trial Dates in Forgery Case

SAN ANGELO, TX – Ray Zapata and John Young were once again present before Judge Brock Jones in the 119th District Court this morning to discuss the final details of their case before beginning trial. Both Zapata and Young are currently charged with two counts of forgery of a financial instrument, one count of theft and one count of money laundering each after suspicious circumstances surrounded the last will and testament of 77-year-old John Sullivan in June of 2014.

Zapata will commence his court proceedings on May 8, according to court records, while Young’s trial will begin on October 16. Both trials are expected to have an extensive jury pool of 100 individuals. In both cases, the first indictment was dropped after a closed doors hearing was held in order to dispute certain charges on the indictment. For that story, click here.

Shane Attaway, the third prosecutor for this case, was present on behalf of the state. During the hearing, both parties discussed the issue of scheduling, witnesses and the discovery process. Attaway asked the court to allow the lead investigator to remain in the courtroom during the entire trial after his testimony. He argued that, as the main investigator, he had the opportunity to have a deeper understanding of the case and could be a useful resource during the trial. This was a somewhat unorthodox request considering that most witnesses are asked to testify outside the presence of other witnesses and subject to the rule, meaning they cannot discuss their testimony with anyone else besides the attorneys. Zapata’s attorney stated before the court that he was opposed to this motion and Judge Jones stated he would rule on that matter closer to the beginning of the trial.

In other witness matters the state explained they would not in fact be calling Detective Rodney Black with the San Angelo Police Department to testify as of now, even though he was on the witness list. It was Black’s analysis that led to the conclusion that the last will and testament of John Sullivan had been forged by Zapata. The DPS Crime Lab was unable to verify Black’s results, which led to an amendment of the indictment for both parties.

The previous charges included forgery charges and theft, as well as an aggravated perjury charge. This charge was dismissed and both men were then indicted without the perjury aspect.

As for discovery, both defense attorneys asked the court's consent to share the content found in the discovery files with their clients. They argued that with 41,000 pages of information and evidence it was more time-efficient to allow their clients to have copies they could refer to instead of driving over three hours to get to their attorney’s office. The state presented no objection and the court accepted the motion.

Mentions of previous plea deals were brought up, but Attaway asserted that he would not be offering any plea agreements to either defendants.

Both defendants have opted to have the jury select the punishment if they are found guilty.