Marc Garcia was indicted at the same time as ex-constable Michelle Barrientes Vela in early 2020, but their paths have taken vastly different courses since then.

Update:

The sentencing of convicted ex-Bexar County constable Michelle Barrientes Vela resumed Tuesday, as her defense team began calling witnesses on her behalf.

Former Bexar County Precinct 2 captain Marc D. Garcia was prepared to testify Tuesday that his former boss, ex-constable Michelle Barrientes Vela, directed him to investigate her political opponent and include evidence not related to the possible criminal offense, court records obtained Wednesday by KSAT Investigates show.

Former Bexar County Precinct 2 Capt. Marc D. Garcia was ordered to appear before Judge Velia Meza when the sentencing hearing of resumes his former boss, Michelle Barrientes Vela at 1:30 p.m. Thursday.

Former Bexar County Precinct 2 captain Marc D. Garcia appears to have turned state’s witness and is scheduled to testify against Michelle Barrientes Vela Wednesday during the sentencing phase of her public corruption trial.

Former Bexar County Precinct 2 captain Marc D. Garcia appears to have turned state’s witness and is scheduled to testify against Michelle Barrientes Vela Wednesday during the sentencing phase of her public corruption trial.

Sentencing resumed Tuesday afternoon for disgraced ex-constable Michelle Barrientes Vela.

A former Precinct 2 deputy accused an attorney for Michelle Barrientes Vela of asking leading questions during day three of sentencing for the convicted ex-constable.

Months before Bexar County officials settled multiple lawsuits filed against indicted ex-constable Michelle Barrientes Vela, she and her former captain repeatedly invoked their 5th Amendment privileges, taped depositions obtained by the KSAT 12 Defenders show.

More than eight hours of civil deposition testimony from Precinct 2 deputies Leonicio Moreno and Christopher De La Cerda included comprehensive descriptions of past scandals involving indicted ex-constable Michelle Barrientes Vela.

New details that could play a significant role in the upcoming public corruption trial of ex-constable Michelle Barrientes Vela are revealed in videotaped depositions obtained by the KSAT 12 Defenders.

Bexar County has agreed to pay the Precinct 2 deputies at the center of the public corruption case against Michelle Barrientes Vela more than $347,000, to settle a flurry of lawsuits filed by them against the indicted ex-constable in recent years.

SAN ANTONIO – Editor’s note: This story is part of an investigative series about the criminal case against ex-Constable Michelle Barrientes Vela. In late August 2019, during a press conference in front of the Bexar County Courthouse, then-Constable Michelle Barrientes Vela forced county officials to examine whether she had triggered the state’s resign-to-run law. SIGN UP FOR THE FREE DEFENDERS NEWSLETTER HEREThe patchWithin hours of winning the 2016 election for Bexar County Constable Precinct 2, Barrientes Vela claimed on Facebook that she was the first female constable in county history. Barrientes Vela responded that something needed to happen now and instructed Garcia to proceed with trying to get an arrest warrant, records show. AdREAD MORE ON THE DOWNFALL PAGE:Downfall: The story of ex-Constable Michelle Barrientes Vela airs March 25 at 9 pm on KSATA timeline of Michelle Barrientes Vela’s controversial time in officeBarrientes Vela, former captain plan aggressive defense at abuse of office trial10 controversies surrounding embattled Precinct 2 Constable Michelle Barrientes Vela

Attorneys for Michelle Barrientes Vela and Marc D. Garcia said they plan an aggressive defense at trial. Editor’s note: This story is part of an investigative series about the criminal case against ex-Constable Michelle Barrientes Vela. Ballantyne pushed back on the two charges of tampering with evidence filed against Barrientes Vela, claiming during the interview that records related to Barrientes Vela working security at Rodriguez Park were not tampered with. AdThe warrant used by Texas Rangers and the FBI to raid Barrientes Vela’s office in September 2019 indicates that the man who paid Barrientes Vela for Easter security was cooperating with the state investigation of Barrientes Vela. AdThe indictment states Barrientes Vela and Garcia knowingly subjected Moreno to mistreatment during his April 2019 arrest.

SAN ANTONIO – Michelle Barrientes Vela’s former captain was fired from the Bexar County Precinct 2 Constable’s Office Wednesday, weeks after he was indicted along with the former constable on felony and misdemeanor charges. Marc Garcia was terminated following a 10-day administrative leave, a Precinct 2 spokesman said. WATCH: Ex-Constable Michelle Barrientes Vela faces judge after turning self in on felony chargesGarcia faces a felony charge of aggravated perjury and three misdemeanor charges of official oppression. A Defenders investigation in June showed that Precinct 2 deputies delayed booking Moreno for nearly a half-hour, until members of the media were in place. Former Bexar County Precinct 2 constable Michelle Barrientes VelaHe and Barrientes Vela are scheduled to make a court appearance Feb. 26.

AdRELATED: 10 controversies surrounding embattled Precinct 2 Constable Barrientes VelaNamed in the warrant as suspects are Barrientes Vela, her former Chief Deputy Anthony Castillo, former Capt. Castillo was fired by Barrientes Vela hours before she was removed from office earlier this month. Weeks after filing suit against Barrientes Vela for the Galveston hot tub incident, Moreno filed to run against her in the 2020 election. Reyes said when he arrived at the park, Barrientes Vela and her family were occupying the pavilion he rented. Barrientes Vela and Castillo then returned and told Reyes he must pay $500 for security, according to the warrant.

KSAT reached an attorney for Barrientes Vela by phone on Tuesday, but he said he would provide a comment later. The search warrant outlines an incident at Rodriguez Park on Easter Sunday in which a man reported being "harassed" by Barrientes Vela during a party with his family. The man had rented a pavilion from the city, but Barrientes Vela was at the pavilion with her family when he arrived. Ultimately, he paid $300 "because he felt intimidated by (Barrientes Vela) and (Castillo)," the search warrant states. Her replacement took over this month and Barrientes Vela has taken the first official step to launch her sheriff campaign for 2020.

The suit, filed in district court Sept. 3 by Precinct 2 Deputy Constable Chris De La Cerda, claims that Barrientes Vela retaliated against him and another deputy constable from the agency, Leonicio Moreno, after Moreno refused sexual overtures from Barrientes Vela. The suit claims that De La Cerda was in a hot tub with Barrientes Vela and Moreno during the incident in question. Tumultuous work relationshipIn January 2018, months after the hot tub incident, Barrientes Vela accused De La Cerda and Moreno of falsifying agency training records. Late last year, after the filing of the first hot tub lawsuit, Barrientes Vela released a statement claiming she had witnesses who could disprove Moreno's version of what happened. Barrientes Vela responded to a request for comment late Tuesday evening with the following statement:AdMichelle Barrientes Vela response 9/10/19

SAN ANTONIO – A federal lawsuit filed Monday accuses Bexar County Precinct 2 Constable Michelle Barrientes Vela and one of her top administrators of violating the civil rights of two deputy constables within her agency, court records show. Moreno has filed to run for Precinct 2 constable in 2020, while De La Cerda serves as Moreno's campaign treasurer. In late February, Moreno and De La Cerda were placed on leave for the duration of Moreno's campaign, the suit states. The suit also states that both Moreno and De La Cerda were subjected to unfair disciplinary action after Moreno filed election paperwork. Bexar County was aware of these problems and had multiple opportunities to take action.

Garcia and Barrientes Vela ignored more than 20 follow-up questions from the Defenders about these delays before Barrientes Vela finally said that she would not engage with the reporter. Despite repeatedly calling one of the deputies who arrested Moreno by the wrong name, Barrientes Vela on Tuesday defended their actions April 30. It remains unclear why Barrientes Vela chose to bring up the topic in front of the media. AdShe then segued into criticizing Bexar County District Attorney Joe Gonzales, who she claims refuses to answer her phone calls or to address her concerns. Barrientes Vela conceded during her remarks that she is concerned Gonzales' office may criminally charge her.

SAN ANTONIO – Surveillance video obtained by the KSAT Defenders shows deputy constables from Bexar County Precinct 2 delayed booking a fellow deputy earlier this year until media arrived at the jail. The footage, provided by the Bexar County Sheriff's Office following an open records request, shows four angles from synchronized cameras of Pct. The full video below shows deputy constables on April 30 delaying the booking process of one of their own. Barrientes Vela, a first-term constable who has routinely claimed that her agency is open and transparent, shut down our requests to interview her for this story. On May 20, after the deadline to acknowledge the request passed, Barrientes Vela responded to the original email chain for the request claiming she never received the request.

SAN ANTONIO – A Bexar County Precinct 2 deputy constable charged this week with felony aggravated perjury says his arrest is the latest in a long line of civil rights violations against citizens committed by his boss, Constable Michelle Barrientes-Vela. Moreno's statement, released via email, states:As you know, on April 30, 2019, I was arrested for aggravated perjury at the direction of Bexar County Precinct 2 Constable Michelle Barrientes-Vela. As pointed out by the Bexar County District Attorney, Constable Vela used her position of authority to have me arrested for acts which are not even criminal. My arrest was nothing more than a political stunt designed to discredit me as a candidate for the office of Bexar County Constable for Precinct 2. Constable Vela demonstrated time and again that she cannot be trusted to hold the office to which she was elected.

SAN ANTONIO – A Bexar County Precinct 2 deputy constable who is running to unseat the current constable was arrested and is facing a felony charge. A warrant for Moreno's arrest obtained by the KSAT 12 Defenders Tuesday night states Moreno filed two false EEOC complaints earlier this year that have hindered the agency's law enforcement duties. In handcuffs and being escorted by deputies, Moreno said his arrest was fueled by retaliation from Bexar County Precinct 2 Constable Michelle Barrientes-Vela. On Jan. 9, Moreno filed to run against Barrientes-Vela in the 2020 election, according to online records. According to KSAT records, Moreno and Barrientes-Vela have been involved in a series of tumultuous events within the past two years.

A third Precinct 2 employee, Deputy Chris De La Cerda, is named in the lawsuit as a witness to the hot tub incident. "To be non-bias, I contacted TCOLE to open an investigation on Deputy Moreno and Deputy De La Cerda for falsifying training records which I believed were submitted under false pretense. The outcome of a TCOLE investigation resulted in both Deputy Moreno and Deputy De La Cerda receiving letters of reprimand for their actions. The Bexar County Civil Service Commission's decision however was to reinstate both Deputy Moreno and Deputy De La Cerda back into positions as Deputy Constables within my Office. AdLawsuit accuses Precinct 2 constable of trying to caress deputy in hot tub during work tripThe suit states that Moreno has continued to be retaliated against by Barrientes Vela after returning to work in late June.

Moreno during a single day last October logged 22 training hours, state records confirm. I feel it's partly her fault," Moreno testified during the hearing. Moreno and De La Cerda in March received written reprimands from the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement and Moreno surrendered his law enforcement instructor's certificate, according to state records. De La Cerda, who testified during Moreno's civil service hearing last month, returned to duty July 5 after signing a settlement agreement. Like Moreno, De La Cerda was reinstated with no back pay and no break in service.

SAN ANTONIO – Two supervisors with the Bexar County Precinct 2 Constable’s Office were terminated earlier this year after a state investigation determined they falsified the training records of themselves and other members of the agency. However, a four-hour training course on that day later appeared on the TCOLE records of De La Cerda, Moreno and other members of the agency. AdDuring a single day last September, De La Cerda logged 11 training hours, according to state records. Moreno, a 17-year veteran of Precinct 2, logged 22 training hours during a single day last October, state records confirm. TCOLE struck a number of training hours from the records of both deputies, according to county paperwork.