Judge Rene De Coss Denies Attorney Ernesto Gamez' Motion to Dismiss Charges Against Marisa Govea Hernandez in Hit-and-Run Case

Attorney Ernesto Gamez, on the Right

In a 50 minute hearing before the 445th District Court, Attorney Ernesto Gamez approached the bench of Judge Rene De Coss for a hearing associated with the State of Texas vs. Marisa Govea Hernandez, the driver of the car that struck Mary Tipton February 28, 2015.

Judge Rene De Coss

Attorney Gamez and Judge De Coss essentially played ping pong, as Gamez weakly served across the bench, only to have his services slammed back by the judge.

Gamez made a 3914 motion to dismiss the charges against his client, that is, being responsible for an accident causing death.  His initial contention that certain court orders had never actually been signed by Judge De Coss was met with firm words:  "I've signed everything!"

Marisa Govea Hernandez

When Gamez seemed to fumble for proof of something unsigned, De Coss interrupted, asking the lead prosecutor for the DA's office, Oscar Guzman, if any orders proved to be unsigned, would he be comfortable if the judge simply signed them.  Both defense and DA's office agreed to that and De Coss moved on.

Gamez moved to his next point, involving a warehouse security video showing the accident, originally 3 days in length, but, while in Brownsville Police Department custody, inexplicably reduced to 30 seconds.  The attorney, representing Marisa Govea Hernandez, claimed that the portion of videotape erased while under BPD custody would show an officer driving slowly later in the night after the accident with his "cop lights" shining on the east and west sides of FM 803. That missing tape evidence would show, in Gamez view, that the 911 call by Hernandez' son, a Cameron County sheriff's deputy, had resulted in an attempt to search for an animal or body.  That, in Gamez' view, would was "mitigating evidence" that would have reduced his client's eventual sentence or even caused her not to be indicted as it could eliminate the aspect of "failure to render aid."

Brownsville Police Detective
Thomas Clipper

Another problem caused by missing video is that such footage would have enabled Attorney Gamez to confront BPD Officer Thomas Clipper about his reported change in testimony.  According to some reports, Clipper first substantiated the claim that an officer used lights sometime in the night after the accident to search for an animal or possible body. Clipper now apparently claims otherwise. Gamez says he needed the lost videotape evidence to confront and impeach Clipper on his changing testimony.

After Gamez motion to dismiss was denied, he asked Judge De Coss to tell Ralph Tipton, the accident victim's husband, to stay out of his office. 

"I find him rude and he puts fear into my staff," Gamez claimed, mumbling something also about urine.

Gamez claimed the District Attorney's office felt the same way.

De Coss replied:  "Mr Gamez, you're an attorney and you know the legal remedy if you don't want Mr. Tipton in your office," obviously referring to a protective order.

At this  point, lead prosecutor Oscar Guzman, from the District Attorney's office stood up: "Judge, no one is barred from the District Attorney's office."

Attorney Gamez' motion to dismiss the charges against his client, Marisa Govea Hernandez, was denied.