High-Stakes Defense

Courtroom Battles Defining 2025’s Biggest Cases

In recent years, Texas law enforcement professionals have been under a relentless wave of pressure, political scrutiny, and prosecution for actions taken in the course and scope of their lawful duty. CLEAT has been in the trenches safeguarding our members’ rights and careers when it matters most.

In November, two highly publicized criminal trials unfolded simultaneously in Austin and San Antonio. Both cases heavy with political pressure, media scrutiny, and the unmistakable sense that prosecutors are increasingly willing to criminalize the split-second decisions officers make every day. These cases put a spotlight on the profession and reveal exactly why CLEAT’s legal support is indispensable.

Top Photo: Officer Sanchez exits the courtroom, escorted by Travis County deputies | Photo: Katy Dean, CLEAT

Austin Trial: Officer Daniel Sanchez

In Austin, Officer Daniel Sanchez faced a felony deadly conduct charge connected to the 2022 shooting of Rajan Moonesinghe. Jury selection began November 3, 2025, and the case quickly drew statewide attention. What should have been a straight-forward examination of law, evidence, and police training instead became a pressure-filled proceeding shaped by emotion and politics.

CLEAT’s in-house Lead Criminal Attorney Brad Heilman, supported by Senior Supervising Attorney Kathy Reyes as co-counsel, worked together and presented a defense rooted in facts. Officer Sanchez responded appropriately to an active threat against personal and public safety. 

Body camera footage and witness testimony established that Officer Sanchez encountered a chaotic scene that night; arriving to find Moonesinghe firing a rifle, which created an immediate danger to bystanders, neighbors, and responding officers. Heilman pressed the point that Sanchez followed his training as he assessed a rapidly evolving situation and made a split-second decision to neutralize an imminent deadly threat.

CLEAT hired expert witnesses to explain the mechanics of human perception under stress, the standards for deadly force, and the operational realities of police response in unpredictable environments.

Officer Sanchez had CLEAT’s support every step of the way. Staff members attended multiple days of the trial; among them were Executive Director Robert Leonard, Deputy Executive Director Jennifer Szimanski, and Staff Attorney Chase McCollough. CLEAT also hosted the Sanchez family at headquarters throughout the trial, ensuring they had steady support during an exceptionally difficult time.

After extensive testimony and significant debate over legal definitions and burdens of proof, with two days of jury deliberations, the jury finally deadlocked at seven (acquittal) to five (conviction).

“CLEAT takes pride in its 50 years of standing behind the men and women in blue when they are wronged by cities or counties, but nothing could have prepared us for the attack our members have been under over the past five years,” CLEAT Executive Director Robert Leonard said in a statement released by the organization immediately after the Sanchez verdict.

Deputy Executive DIrector Jennifer Szimanski and Executive Director Robert Leonard exit courtroom during a break. 

CLEAT Senior Supervising Attorney Kathy Reyes and Staff Attorney Brad Heilman exit the courtroom with CLEAT-retained expert witness, Mark Sawa. Photos: Katy Dean | CLEAT

San Antonio Trial: Three Officers, One Verdict

At the same time, the Sanchez trial was unfolding in Austin, a second high-profile case was reaching its conclusion in Bexar County. Three former San Antonio PD Officers, CLEAT members, faced murder and aggravated assault charges stemming from the 2023 shooting of Melissa Perez. 

Officer Villalobos, Sgt Flores, Officer Alejandro exit the courtroom | Photo: Express News

CLEAT provided critical support, including hiring expert witnesses, covering the defense costs for all three officers, and ensuring they had the resources necessary.

During the trial, the defense focused on the realities of responding to a volatile mental health crisis that escalated rapidly. Expert testimony and multiple body camera angles showed the unpredictable and dangerous nature of the situation as Perez continued to threaten officers, swinging a hammer at them through shattered glass. 

The case dragged on for weeks, but the jury came back in under 90 minutes with a NOT GUILTY on all counts for all three officers. 

Ultimately, the justice system rejected a politically motivated attempt to criminalize law enforcement officers responding to real threats.

Our members know and recognize this climate isn’t hypothetical. It’s here. It’s active. And it affects every officer in every corner of the state.

Villalobos reacts to Not Guilty verdict | Photo: Kens5

“At the end of the day law enforcement officers should be able to serve their communities free from fear of political persecution,” said Leonard. “Anything short of that places them at great risk of not coming home at the end of their shift.”

What These Cases Mean for Every CLEAT Member

Together, these trials represent a shift that Texas peace officers feel every day in the field.

Rogue District Attorneys are willing to prosecute law enforcement for political gain.

“We are disgusted by the rigorous push to prosecute officers for defending the public while letting hardened criminals off on sweetheart plea deals and endangering the public,” Leonard stated. “CLEAT will continue to fight for our members at every step to ensure their calling to serve the public is honored and respected.”

These cases also highlight another essential truth: your membership is your lifeline. Your rights, your job, your reputation and your freedom are too important to leave to chance. CLEAT’s legal team is the most experienced law enforcement defense operation in Texas. Our attorneys handle everything from internal affairs and administrative hearings to criminal indictments and trials. 

Our ability to fund the brightest and best experts and attorneys in the field comes from the fact that we are the largest law enforcement association in Texas, backed by over 28,000 police officers and their associations. Strength in numbers. And we do it with one mission: defending officers who are doing their jobs and putting their lives at risk every day.

Why CLEAT Stands Apart

CLEAT delivers legal representation, and it’s proven. We are the only organization in Texas that has been engaged in high-stakes criminal trials at an alarming rate. We have not backed down to rhetoric, and we don’t disappear when politics shift. 

These trials, and the thousands of cases CLEAT attorneys handle every year, show exactly why our members say they wouldn’t do this job without CLEAT behind them.

CLEAT is here to defend you, and we have your back.