The following is a statement by Michael & Associates on behalf of former Loretta Police Chief Melissa Cantu.
For Immediate Release: On September 21st, 2023, municipal Judge Sharon Watson, municipal court clerk Stephanie Sweet and city secretary Elizabeth Lambert met at by the entrance to Lometa City Hall. Lots was discussed, but ultimately there was a verbal feud that resulted in a complaint from Lambert to Lometa’s mayor, Stephen Hicks.
Upon hearing this complaint, Mayor Hicks instructed our client, then police chief Melissa Cantu, to investigate the altercation, specifically directing Ms. Cantu to retrieve this footage from the surveillance cameras.
It’s worth noting: this footage is from public surveillance cameras – the type that exist in virtually every government building in the country. Any US citizen could request these recordings via a Freedom of Information Act request, and there is a sign on the front door of City Hall informing visitors of surveillance.
The results of the investigation were to be presented at the next council meeting. During that meeting, Ms. Cantu provided the City Council members with the video recording and an audio transcription. The video was pretty damning and embarrassing for Judge Watson, so damning the video was not posted publicly (every other city council recording is made available on the city’s Facebook page).
It is our belief – and what we intend to prove – that Judge Watson retaliated against Ms Cantu by instructing district attorney John K. Greenwood to press charges against Cantu.
The best charge the DA could drum up is “unlawful interception, use, or disclosure of wire, oral, or electronic communications” – more commonly known as “wiretapping”, a second degree felony.
Here’s the problem: Cantu did not wiretap anybody. The footage of Judge Watson – as embarrassing as it may be – was filmed on public surveillance cameras. Nearly every person in the country is filmed on public surveillance cameras on a weekly basis. Cantu did not install those cameras – she simply retrieved the recordings at the direction of her boss, the Mayor himself. Again, any US citizen could retrieve such footage with a Freedom of Information Act request.
Subsequent to these trumped up charges, Mayor Hicks fired police chief Cantu. This move is not only cowardly, but hypocritical given that Mayor Hicks ordered Cantu to retrieve the footage. If this action did constitute wiretapping (which it obviously did not), Mayor Hicks would also be guilty as he is the one who ordered the retrieval and dissemination of the footage.
Michael & Associates maintains the innocence of police chief Cantu, and intends to prove it beyond the shadow of a doubt. In doing so, Michael & Associates will reveal the corruption, deceit, and pettiness of small town politics that plagues the justice system of Lampasas County.
Our client was used as a scapegoat by those in power to avoid their own public humiliation while Ms. Cantu and her family’s lives have been turned upside down. We will not rest until our client’s good name is restored and those officials who have abused their authority have been brought to justice.
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Ben has vast experience in defending criminal cases ranging from DWIs to assault, drug possession, and many more. He has countless criminal charges dismissed and pled down. Among many other awards, one of the Top 10 Criminal Defense Attorneys in Texas and winner of Top 40 under 40.
Ben has vast experience in defending criminal cases ranging from DWIs to assault, drug possession, and many more. He has countless criminal charges dismissed and pled down. Among many other awards, one of the Top 10 Criminal Defense Attorneys in Texas and winner of Top 40 under 40.