[{"_1":2,"_87":-5,"_88":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":56,"_74":56},"mediaId",6146780,"mediaKeyId","5524576-2e3a61f67855b9f6c1e1cbec2ea5c759","parentId",5524576,"title","Prosecutors, detectives describe investigation steps; judge flags translation foundation and delayed forensic exams","audioSeconds",7079,"startMs",3559000,"endMs",10638000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=5524576-2e3a61f67855b9f6c1e1cbec2ea5c759&start=3559&end=10638","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5524576-2e3a61f67855b9f6c1e1cbec2ea5c759/thumbnail_3559000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6146780/Texas/Prosecutors-detectives-describe-investigation-steps-judge-flags-translation-foundation-and-delayed-forensic-exams","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6146780-a964b6495d840b218020d0dd84699214/orig.mp4?Expires=1770448062&Signature=om04TntjZ-OmS9Y2QKTxLSa6FfcTBNQIfA3K-Pliy-LPmyqvVdWXfOWJwJSMKN9OEoiLxuYuYg9Zv~yZhKxRB1v5dxS9t92MXweX2LnrbVf0fBjeybWO7VHIcjBOcWpVpEBevQGcEhh9q4YOtmYZ1jJLtE7FEjLUjLUaZ8QJutxSnS3c8NfWzx8LxFMkNRKpqEKl0fTuUEpHI0lTG-BGznm5KQw8N0DctpETzZWE9mK7OiN63HbTBDnRdgg977WC~SJVIIfBp3pI87Dcc8koVwGuLKJPKy0RpHQFcJbr24-Q4ZLkJG1R9EfYtBOGKZ10qSO0XJelz2K5Nig-ke3LoQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","","date","2025-08-02T07:21:44.813Z","article","San Antonio police officers and detectives who testified at a trial in Bexar County described how they handled a family-violence call from May 4–5, 2024, and how language access and timing affected investigative steps.

Officer Nathan Ruiz and Officer Matthew Beatty said they responded to a reported assault at a strip center on the evening of May 4 and searched the scene and an adjacent restaurant and barbershop. Ruiz testified that the department’s usual practice is to request a Spanish-speaking officer or use LanguageLine Solutions if a live bilingual call-taker is not available; in this case officers who spoke Spanish later joined the scene to assist with victim interviewing.

Lasonya Robinson, custodian of records for SAPD Communications, confirmed the 911 audio copy includes an interpreter from LanguageLine Solutions. The court, however, said the state had not yet established the foundation required for jurors to rely on the translated Spanish-language portions of the recording.

Detective Angela Lopez of SAPD’s Crisis Response Team described her unit’s role and said she did not interview the complainant in a recorded, formal interview room until May 17, 2024. By then, Lopez testified, some forensic opportunities had passed: she told the court she did not request a sexual assault nurse examiner (SANE) exam, DNA swabs or latent-print processing at the barbershop, and that neighborhood cameras had not been checked initially. Lopez explained that by the time detectives reviewed the written 2089 DV statement and contacted the complainant, days had passed and physical evidence that a SANE or on-scene forensics would collect was likely no longer available.

Officer Rodriguez, the crime-scene investigator, photographed visible injuries on May 5 and noted some injuries the victim asked not to be photographed. Investigator Rodriguez said departmental practice allows a female CSI to be called for photographing sensitive injuries, and that victims can instead photograph injuries themselves and send images if they prefer.

Detectives also described administrative issues: an initial police report contained an incorrect name listed as the complainant; follow-up calls from the CRT unit and from a MetroHealth advocate named Leticia were used to locate and verify the correct victim. Detective Lopez told the court that after review she concluded the written 2089 statement indicated additional allegations — including a sexual assault allegation in the narrative — that required clarification with the complainant.

Why it matters: Investigative timing, language access and choices about forensics can affect evidence available to prosecutors and defense counsel. The court’s reservation about authentication of translated 911 audio likewise affects what jurors will be allowed to hear and consider.

Courtroom context: The testimony about investigative steps was given during the state’s case; defense counsel cross-examined officers about whether standard forensic steps were taken at or soon after the scene. The judge allowed the state to supplement the record regarding translation foundation and held open the possibility of recalling witnesses.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","FRI., AUG 1, 2025/JUDGE STEPHANIE BOYD/187TH DISTRICT COURT/JURY: STATE VS CEPEDES","oneSentenceSummary","Detectives and officers described multilingual responses, photo-taking and follow-up contact in a family-violence case; the court flagged gaps the defense emphasized: no early neighborhood-camera checks, no DNA or latent-print requests initially and no SANE exam because days had passed before detectives met the complainant.","taxTitle","Judge Stephanie Boyd 187th District, District Court Judges, Judicial, Texas","taxId",66298,"location","Texas","headline","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":56,"_74":56},6146784,"Witness testifies about assault, 911 call and photographs entered into evidence",8227,489000,8716000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5524576-2e3a61f67855b9f6c1e1cbec2ea5c759&start=489&end=8716","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5524576-2e3a61f67855b9f6c1e1cbec2ea5c759/thumbnail_489000.jpg","/articles/6146784/Texas/Witness-testifies-about-assault-911-call-and-photographs-entered-into-evidence","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6146784-489809860a8808395ef347ff97fd1bec/orig.mp4?Expires=1770448062&Signature=jwMxWr1VV7xfK40It~DC7f1Nm7Hyn9vOBKgo0PLNwBL9KPS658B4eK5otRs-y5im64hlsPJi-VLTmnCn1IhK4enCkD~AvFP~Ijw2~KhRAuuyha5q4HKhk5SF7kanCDEL~12fncbpLiD9zsxNk~fe1ytoW9iQmmZvmwMk2kvQay5A37JQFw6G4oB0oaEUH5PS2ZzcDNI4hLkg-zvYvOcoS-t89I~QCtKkCxp8BTzNnvKtNvjseFHE4SxWwHp~O9L66mSikAQPJniK7RlvY2ZXr9n4C9~ifv8NS7kg5u2NCjSOXZiftC5T~k~szRQWeZF70gWSu50ODmcPOSeiuwOxng__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","A woman who testified under oath at a trial in Bexar County said a man assaulted her in his apartment and later in a strip-center barbershop, and that she called 911 after the incident on May 4, 2024.

The witness described the encounter on the stand: “He told me to lie down on the bed, and I didn't wanna lie down, and that was when he pushed me. He was insulting me, and he was telling me that everything was my fault.” The court and attorneys then reviewed a recorded 911 call and photographs the San Antonio Police Department’s crime-scene unit took the next day.

The jury heard that the recording alleged to be the 911 call was played from a disk marked by the state; the witness identified the audio as the call she made. San Antonio Police Communications paralegal Lasonya Robinson told the court that a copy of the 911 call had been preserved and that the recording contained both the caller’s Spanish and an interpreter from LanguageLine Solutions.

Detective Jorge Rodriguez of the San Antonio Police Department’s Crime Scene Unit testified that he photographed the complainant on May 5, 2024, and that the photos showed redness and bruising. The court admitted three photographs marked by the state into evidence without objection. Investigator Rodriguez said the full-body and injury photographs fairly and accurately depicted how the complainant appeared on the date he photographed her.

The prosecutor also showed the jury a photo of the man later identified by the state, and the witness confirmed that the rings visible in that photo were similar to those the man sometimes wore. Officers on scene said the man was sometimes seen drinking from glass bottles and wearing multiple gold rings.

The judge paused the admission of the recording’s Spanish-language content for additional foundation testimony. The court said that, although the state had authenticated the recording as the 911 call, it had not yet laid a foundation showing the LanguageLine interpreter’s Spanish translation met whatever formal requirements the court would require for the jury to rely on the translated content. The court allowed the state to present further testimony about the translation foundation before the jury would be allowed to hear the Spanish portions as translated.

The trial record shows the call was logged to an address in the 5700 block of Evers/Everest (the transcript uses both spellings) and was received at about 8:53 p.m. on May 4, 2024. The crime-scene photos were taken the following day. The jury was excused and the state rested later in the day; several witnesses who had testified were marked subject to recall.

Why it matters: The witness’s live identification, the 911 recording and the CSI photographs are central to the prosecution’s case. The court’s reservation about the translated portions of the 911 call means a portion of the recording’s content will require additional foundation before jurors may consider the interpreted Spanish-language statements.

Courtroom context: The testimony about the assault and the 911 call came during the state’s presentation of evidence. Several SAPD officers and an investigator from the crime-scene unit described their contacts with the complainant, the time and location of the call, and the photographs they took. The judge instructed the jury that evidence admissibility questions would be resolved before the jury could consider some translated content.","At a Bexar County trial, a woman who identified herself on the stand said a man pushed and assaulted her on May 4, 2024; the prosecution introduced her 911 recording and crime-scene photographs while the court took up whether a Spanish-language translation in the recording was properly authenticated.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Prosecutors, detectives describe investigation steps; judge flags translation foundation and delayed forensic exams

Witness testifies about assault, 911 call and photographs entered into evidence