by SEAN KIMMONS
A Kyle husband and wife charged with assaulting their Hispanic neighbors were acquitted last week by a jury at the 22nd District Court in San Marcos.
The decision has sparked contention with the local branch of the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), which called the assault a hate crime. LULAC officials say they plan to look at different avenues to fight what they call an unfair trial.
“LULAC is not satisfied with the outcome of the trial,” District 2 Director Mario Gonzalez said on Tuesday. “We feel it has been very discriminatory.”
Steve and Melanie Jones, who were found not guilty, cannot be retried for the alleged assaults since the trial ended in an acquittal. Instead, Gonzalez says that LULAC will seek advice from its lawyers and perhaps get the federal government to investigate the civil rights claim.
On Sept. 14, 2008, a verbal dispute erupted between the Joneses and Martin Moreno and his wife, Heliodora, after the Moreno’s dog strayed away and defecated onto their neighbor’s yard on Convent Drive in Kyle.
The Jones couple, accompanied by two other men, confronted the Morenos on their property. Martin Moreno claimed that the three men pushed him to the ground, and that Steve Jones punched him in his right eye at least twice, according to the arrest affidavit.
Heliodora Moreno then tried to stop the attack by hitting Steve Jones in the head, when Melanie Jones threw her to the ground and struck her at least two times, the affidavit says.
The Joneses and the other two men, Chris Baird and Parker Krantz, denied that they assaulted the Morenos and reported that when they confronted the Morenos the incident escalated to a physical altercation, the affidavit states.
The Morenos were transported to Central Texas Medical Center for their injuries. Martin Moreno received five stitches over his right eye while his wife had several contusions, the affidavit says.
In the trial, defense attorney Tom Garner argued that the altercation was mutual and Steve Jones even took the stand to testify that he pushed but did not strike Martin Moreno, according to news reports.
Chris Baird and Parker Krantz have yet to be tried in the assault case.
The Hays County District Attorney’s Office prosecuted the case but declined to comment.
“The defendant has been acquitted and I think that speaks for itself,” Hays County District Attorney Sherri Tibbe said.
