Updated On: Jan 30, 2020

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You have heard the old saying about how the “past can come back to haunt you”. Well that could never be truer for Assistant Chief Kolbye and the Arlington Police Department.

Attached is a copy of a motion for a new trial for Hector Acosta. Acosta you may remember was arrested and charged with Capital Murder, for killing two people and decapitating one of them. In November 2019, Acosta was found guilty and sentenced to death.

On Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2020, the motion for a new trial was heard in Tarrant County. The defense filed the motion claiming the State failed to provide evidence under Brady v. Maryland. The State argued that the motion was not filed within the required 30 days and should not be granted. The court agreed and denied the motion for a new trial. As a result, the motion has now been handed over to writ attorneys who will begin to file the motion with the Court of Appeals, which may be heard sometime this summer.

So how did this all come about? Well you all may remember the recent Anthony Stafford arbitration ruling. If you recall, Assistant Chief Kolbye testified in that arbitration. In an effort to discredit his testimony, Attorney Randel Moore submitted a ruling from the State Office of Administrative Hear (SOAH), in which the judge in the hearing ruled that Assistant Chief Kolbye had made false allegations against Officer K. Southard back in 2017.

Both the arbitration and SOAH rulings have been read and not just by our members but by others, including one of the defense attorney’s for Acosta. The attorney contacted retired APD Officer K. Southard to gain more information on his case involving Chief Kolbye. The attorney informed Southard that Assistant Chief Kolbye testified in the trial of Acosta in 2019, but that no one disclosed the SOAH ruling to the defense team prior to the trial.

Southard informed the attorney that he had filed a complaint with the Tarrant County District Attorney’s Office and the City of Arlington in 2017, requesting Chief Kolbye be placed on the Brady list. Southard informed the attorney about his complaint and about receiving a letter from the District Attorney’s Office informing him they would not place Chief Kolbye on the Brady list unless the City opens an investigation. As a result, the attorney has filed open records request with both the DA’s Office and the City of Arlington for the complaint filed by Southard and other documents.

Understand that we the Arlington Municipal Patrolman’s Association in no way support a new trial for Acosta and believe he got the punishment he so deserves. Once again, had the Arlington Police Command staff done the right thing, this would not be an issue and a killer would not be getting a chance for a new trial.

Download:

Acosta_Amended_Motion_for_new_trial__1-15_final.pdf

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