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The trial of three former San Antonio Police Department officers involved in the June 2023 shooting and killing of Melissa Perez is set to begin on Sept. 2.
Two former officers, Eleazar Alejandro and Alfred Flores, are charged with murder over the shooting of Perez, a woman with schizophrenia who had an apparent mental health crisis at her apartment complex when the officers confronted her.
A third former officer, Nathaniel Villalobos, is charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon by a public servant after his initial murder charge was reduced.
Judge Ron Rangel, who is overseeing the case, ordered the release of SAPD Internal Affairs documents to the defense during the final pre-trial hearing for the case on Wednesday.
Prosecutors with the Bexar County District Attorney’s Office also agreed to request and turn over user audit trails for members of the SAPD’s command staff to the defense.
Defense attorneys said the user audit trails will indicate whether and for how long different SAPD staff members reviewed documents or footage of the shooting, which they argued will demonstrate that the decision to charge and arrest the three former officers was rushed.
Defense attorneys have accused prosecutors of withholding information they are required to turn over, but prosecutors at the DA's Office have consistently said they have followed the law.
The three former officers were called on June 23, 2023, after firefighters found Perez attempting to dismantle fire alarms in her apartment complex that she said were being used by the FBI to surveil her.
Once the former officers arrived, Perez ran from them and barricaded herself inside her home, throwing a candlestick at her closed door and telling the officers “shoot me” after one of them threatened to.
The three officers then shot at her, but only bullets from Alejandro’s and Flores’ firearms hit her, leading to Villalobos’ reduced charge later.
They were arrested within hours, and SAPD Chief William McManus quickly said their actions violated protocol and that they should have contacted the SAPD’s Mental Health Unit before confronting Perez.
