FLORESVILLE, Texas – A veteran law enforcement officer has filed a lawsuit in federal court in San Antonio accusing the district attorney of the 81st judicial district and one of her investigators of using unlawfully obtained records to block his hiring by two agencies.
Jasper McDonald said expunged records were forwarded by District Attorney Audrey Gossett Louis to officials with the Wilson County Sheriff’s Office and the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Rangers Association, causing both agencies to separately rescind employment offers.
McDonald, according to the suit, was offered the position of lieutenant with WCSO in December 2020 at a salary of $75,000 a year plus benefits and the use of a take-home vehicle.
But days before McDonald was scheduled to begin his employment, Sheriff Jim Stewart informed McDonald that he could no longer move forward with hiring him, the suit states.
Gossett Louis had forwarded Stewart records obtained by DA Investigator Roland Trevino from a deadly conduct case against McDonald, even though those records were part of a previous court expungement order, the suit states.
“The 2008 Order of Expungement required all parties with case records in their possession, including the 81st Judicial District Attorney’s Office, to return, delete or destroy such records,” according to the lawsuit.
Gossett Louis also informed Stewart that McDonald was on the Brady list, a list compiled by prosecutors that contains law enforcement officers with past incidents of untruthfulness, criminal convictions or other credibility issues.
Prosecutors typically will not call officers on this list as witnesses during criminal proceedings, because the credibility of the officers will be called into question.
Stewart did not return a phone message seeking comment Monday.
McDonald, according to the suit, was also offered a position with the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Rangers Association.
“McDonald was told his badge and take-home vehicle were ready. Again, due to the malicious intervention of Defendants Louis and Trevino, including the false assertion that expunged records were Brady material, and the false assertion that McDonald was on the Brady List, the hiring decision was reversed,” the suit states.
The lawsuit does not provide a timeline for the TSCRA offer and rescindment of employment.
TSCRA officials did not respond to calls from KSAT seeking comment.
McDonald currently serves as a reserve deputy with both the Atascosa County Sheriff’s Office and the Live Oak County Sheriff’s Office, Texas Commission on Law Enforcement records show.
Attorneys for Gossett Louis and Trevino filed a motion earlier this month attempting to get the case dismissed, claiming in part that the defendants are immune from being sued.
Reached by phone, Gossett Louis told KSAT that she “would absolutely love to comment,” but cannot since the case is still pending. Her district includes Wilson, La Salle, Frio, Karnes and Atascosa Counties.
McDonald referred questions about his lawsuit to his Washington, D.C. based attorney.
The attorney declined to make McDonald available for an interview, but referred KSAT to an amended petition filed in the case July 6.
The suit states McDonald was acquitted of the deadly conduct charge in 2008.
McDonald has worked as a law enforcement officer since 1998, TCOLE records show.
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Lawsuit: South Texas DA twice used expunged records to block officer from landing law enforcement jobs - KSAT San Antonio
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