By Mark Reagan
Brownsville Herald
![Rene Oliveira.jpg]()
Former state lawmaker Rene Oliveira has filed motions calling his arrest unlawful and challenging the legality of a warrant used to test his blood after the Brownsville Police Department arrested him on driving while intoxicated in April 2018.
County-Court-at-Law No. 1 Judge Arturo A. McDonald was scheduled on Thursday afternoon to consider motions to suppress evidence obtained after Oliveira’s arrest and to suppress evidence obtained from a blood analyses that revealed the former lawmaker’s blood alcohol level, as well as showing that he tested positive for a drug that prosecutors have not publicly identified.
However, McDonald said the motion to suppress evidence obtained after his arrest will be postponed because Oliveira’s defense attorney, Ed Stapleton, has not been able to view body camera video of the arrest because he is unable to open the video format the Cameron County District Attorney’s Office has the video saved in.
Assistant District Attorney Rehaman Merchant told McDonald he will meet with Stapleton and allow the attorney to view the video and convert it into a format that will work for him.
Merchant entered the alcohol and drug results as exhibits during the hearing, but McDonald sealed them at Stapleton’s request. The defense attorney asked McDonald to seal those results to protect Oliveira’s privacy. Merchant said he was not opposed to the results being sealed.
Separately, McDonald said he will rule on the motion to suppress evidence obtained from the blood analyses at a later date.
The Brownsville Police Department arrested Oliveira on April 28 at his residence and charged him with drunken driving.
A police report indicates that Oliveira left Cobbleheads just before 10:30 p.m. on April 28, 2018, before he crashed into a vehicle stopped at a light on the 800 block of Boca Chica Boulevard.
Former state lawmaker Rene Oliveira has filed motions calling his arrest unlawful and challenging the legality of a warrant used to test his blood after the Brownsville Police Department arrested him on driving while intoxicated in April 2018.County-Court-at-Law No. 1 Judge Arturo A. McDonald was scheduled on Thursday afternoon to consider motions to suppress evidence obtained after Oliveira’s arrest and to suppress evidence obtained from a blood analyses that revealed the former lawmaker’s blood alcohol level, as well as showing that he tested positive for a drug that prosecutors have not publicly identified.
However, McDonald said the motion to suppress evidence obtained after his arrest will be postponed because Oliveira’s defense attorney, Ed Stapleton, has not been able to view body camera video of the arrest because he is unable to open the video format the Cameron County District Attorney’s Office has the video saved in.
Assistant District Attorney Rehaman Merchant told McDonald he will meet with Stapleton and allow the attorney to view the video and convert it into a format that will work for him.
Merchant entered the alcohol and drug results as exhibits during the hearing, but McDonald sealed them at Stapleton’s request. The defense attorney asked McDonald to seal those results to protect Oliveira’s privacy. Merchant said he was not opposed to the results being sealed.
Separately, McDonald said he will rule on the motion to suppress evidence obtained from the blood analyses at a later date.
The Brownsville Police Department arrested Oliveira on April 28 at his residence and charged him with drunken driving.
A police report indicates that Oliveira left Cobbleheads just before 10:30 p.m. on April 28, 2018, before he crashed into a vehicle stopped at a light on the 800 block of Boca Chica Boulevard.
To read rest of story, click on link: