LUBBOCK, Texas (KCBD) – A judge declared a mistrial Wednesday in the murder trial of Victor Yanez before opening statements could begin, citing a failure by law enforcement to timely disclose hours of video evidence.
Judge William Eichman of the 364th District Court granted the defense’s motion for a mistrial after learning that more than 12 hours of video footage—held by the Lubbock Police Department since April 2025—was not delivered to the defense until Tuesday, a day after the jury was selected.
Defense attorneys argued they didn’t have enough time to review and investigate the footage, which they said could affect witness statements.
State prosecutors admitted they were unaware the additional footage existed until a July 15 meeting with investigators, the same day they were turned over. Upon receiving the files from detectives, prosecutors uploaded them to a server, believing the defense had been automatically notified, which is what happens when an upload is made.
While Judge Eichman noted that prosecutors did not act in bad faith, he expressed frustration with police investigators for the delay.
“We were ready to go, we had a jury selected, and yet another trial is getting a mistrial because of discovery issues,” Eichman said.
A new trial date has been set for Aug. 24.
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