Simmons fails in bid to have test tossed
A judge on Friday rejected an attempt by a lawyer for former KSAT sports anchor Greg Simmons to throw out the lab analysis that showed Simmons’ blood alcohol concentration was far above the legal limit when he was pulled over on suspicion of drunken driving early last year.
Defense attorney Mark Stevens had argued in a two-day hearing that the blood analysis was flawed and should not be used as evidence in the driving while intoxicated charge that resulted.
Such attempts at suppressing evidence are common in DWI cases, but Stevens also challenged the procedures and science behind the state’s standard protocol for drawing, storing and analyzing blood.
Visiting Senior District Judge Kevin O’connell denied the motion, saying the arguments were compelling but that he found the state’s expert, who performed the analysis, convincing.
Simmons, 68, a sportscaster for more than four decades, resigned from KSAT days after he was arrested Jan. 27, 2023.
Bexar County sheriff ’s deputies responding to reports of an erratic driver in the Stone Oak area saw Simmons’ maroon Chevrolet Tahoe drifting from lane to lane and at one point stopping in the middle of Evans Road near TPC Parkway, according to an incident report.
A deputy followed Simmons with his lights and siren on for about five minutes before Simmons pulled over, the report said.
Simmons believed he was driving on U.S. 281, and when a deputy asked to see his license, Simmons handed him a gold American Express card, the report said. Authorities could not obtain a breath sample from Simmons, so a licensed vocational nurse drew his blood.
He was initially charged with driving while intoxicated, a Class B misdemeanor punishable by up to six months in jail. Under the Texas Penal Code, it’s illegal to drive with a blood alcohol concentration, or BAC, of .08 or higher.
The charge against Simmons was upgraded to a Class A misdemeanor, with a potential oneyear jail sentence, after the District Attorney’s Office received results of a lab analysis indicating that his BAC was .15 or higher.
That set the stage for the hearing that began Thursday in which Giannina Heredia, a forensic scientist in the Texas Department of Public Safety’s toxicology laboratory in El Paso, said she stood by the results and defended the state’s procedures.
Stevens presented his own expert, Janine Arvizu, a chemist and auditor of lab data who has testified in numerous criminal cases around the country. Arvizu said the specimens of Simmons’ blood were not properly collected or stored.
Stevens questioned Heredia about whether the amount of Simmons’ blood in the test tube was adequate. She said it was. Arvizu said it wasn’t.
Stevens also asked about the risk of contamination from the transport and storage protocols approved by the state, and the length of time the state allows a sample to be kept at room temperature. Heredia said the state’s protocols were sufficient for accurate test results.
Blood alcohol concentration is the level of alcohol in a person’s blood measured in grams per deciliter. With a BAC of .08, a driver is four times more likely to crash than a sober driver, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. At .15 or higher, a motorist is at least 12 times more likely to crash.
O’connell said Heredia walked the court through each step she performed.
Although he agreed with the defense that there was no documentation provided on the specific times that Heredia did certain tasks, which Arvizu, the defense expert, said would be a better standard, the judge said he was satisfied.
“I find her (Heredia) to be credible, and the test results reliable and credible,” O’connell said
Simmons was one of the most notable sportscasters in San Antonio history. He joined KSAT in 1980 and rose to sports director and anchor.
His former KSAT colleague, reporter John Paul Barajas, also faces a charge of driving with a BAC of .15 or higher.
Barajas, 29, was pulled over around 2 a.m. Nov. 5 on Interstate 10 on the Northwest Side after a police officer saw him driving 82 mph in a 65-mph zone, changing speeds suddenly and drifting in and out of lanes, according to a police affidavit.
The arresting officer noted that Barajas had bloodshot eyes and smelled strongly of alcohol. Asked to go through the alphabet, Barajas recited the letters A through K “and stated he could not recall the rest,” the affidavit said.