Appeals court denies motion to dismiss murder indictment of El Paso man
EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) -- The Texas 8th Court of Appeals has ruled that a murder indictment can remain in place on a man accused of shooting and killing another man outside an East El Paso bar nearly six years ago.
In a ruling posted Nov. 2, the appellate court upheld the trial court's ruling to deny a motion to dismiss the indictment of Moises Galvan in connection with the 2017 shooting death of RJ Franco.
BACKGROUND: Man charged with murder claims retrial would result in double jeopardy
El Paso police arrested Galvan a short distance from the crime scene on Montwood Drive near the now-shuttered Barfly the same evening of the deadly shooting.
Galvan, who was 19 at the time, was accused of fatally shooting Franco, 21, as the two engaged in a fight in the bar parking lot in the early morning hours of Jan. 29. Galvan maintained he shot Franco in self-defense.
Galvan went to trial in May 2019, but it ended in a mistrial. Judge Marcos Lizarraga granted a mistrial after the defense alleged prosecutorial misconduct due to their line of questioning of Galvan.
Since the mistrial, the State Commission on Judicial Conduct launched an investigation into Lizarraga's handling of the trial. The SCJC has told ABC-7 the matter is in formal proceedings and a hearing will be scheduled soon.
Lizarraga recused himself from the Galvan trial. Visiting Judge Stephen Ables told attorneys the retrial would not proceed until the appellate court issued a ruling.
ABC-7 reached out to both Galvan's defense attorney and the District Attorney's office for comment on the ruling. DA spokesman Paul Ferris said in an emailed statement, "If no further action is taken by the defendant, then the Court of Appeals will issue a mandate within a few months and the case will go back on the docket of the 168th District Court for retrial before Judge Ables."
The defense attorney has not yet responded to ABC-7's request for comment.
Hear more details about this case in the ABC-7 Borderland Crimes Podcast.
