Criminal defense attorney Shannon Locke on Thursday endorsed Jane Davis for Bexar County District Attorney after the Democrat pledged to prosecute Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents who break local laws.
Pursuing similar charges against federal agents was among Locke’s campaign promises as well.
“After we got the election results, I went to our two remaining Democratic candidates,” said Locke, who finished third in the Democratic primary on March 3. “I spoke with them both in detail. One of them was willing to listen to my ideas, and the other was not.”
Indeed, Locke was the only Democratic primary candidate to champion investigating and prosecuting ICE agents in Bexar County. Davis was initially against Locke’s proposal on the debate stage, arguing that it wasn’t possible for the DA’s office to investigate a federal agency.
However, Davis clarified her stance during the presser, maintaining that she was opposed to investigating ICE but not to prosecuting them when they break the law.
“What I was skeptical about is when we use the terms ‘I’m going to investigate ICE,” Davis said. “You’re not going to investigate a federal agency, and it’s not practical. But, we can enforce the law when federal agents break it.”
During Thursday’s presser, Davis also said she would be to hire more prosecutors to prevent more deaths at the troubled Bexar County jail.
“There’s been 85 deaths in the past few years in the Bexar County jail,” Davis said. “Poor conditions are unacceptable. We need to do better. One way to do better is to have more prosecutors move cases faster.”
She said she would train new hires by holding seized-asset auctions, which the DA’s office has done in the past but has refrained from doing in recent years.
Davis, who currently heads the juvenile section for the DA’s office and has more than four decades of prosecutorial experience, also ripped her opponent, former 4th Court of Appeals judge Luz Elena Chapa.
“My opponent has never worked in a DA’s office — has no clue how it works,” Davis said. “I think it’s very important to realize that when somebody comes in without any experience, they are a puppet for whoever brings them, whoever endorses them.”
So far, Chapa has garnered endorsements from the San Antonio Police Officers Association (SAPOA) and the Deputy Sheriffs’ Association of Bexar County (DSABC). Meanwhile, the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) endorsed Davis this week.
Davis and Chapa will face off in the May 26 Democratic primary runoff. The winner of which will then take on Republican candidate Ashley Foster.
Sign Up for SA Current newsletters.
Follow us: Apple News | Google News | NewsBreak | Reddit | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter | Or sign up for our RSS Feed
Related Stories
Bexar County DA candidate defends his plans to prosecute ICE after criticism from legal community
Bexar County DA Joe Gonzales says he won’t seek reelection
A motley crew of Democrats vie to become new Bexar County DA