D.A. Jimmy Granberry says missing evidence from a previous administration forced the dismissal of all charges against Dr. Juan Villarreal.
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — The Nueces County District Attorney’s Office dismissed all charges Friday against longtime OB-GYN Dr. Juan Villarreal after prosecutors said key evidence collected under the previous administration could not be found, leaving them unable to meet mandatory legal requirements before going to trial.
District Attorney James Granberry said the office “had no choice” but to drop the case after discovering that evidence tied to the years-long investigation was missing. Villarreal, who was first arrested in late 2018, had been indicted on multiple felony sexual-assault counts.
Granberry said the dismissal became unavoidable when neither his office nor the Corpus Christi Police Department could legally certify compliance with the Michael Morton Act and the Richard Miles Act — state laws requiring both agencies to swear, under oath, that all evidence has been collected and disclosed.
“The case was dismissed — The DA’s office had no choice,” Granberry said. “It had suffered from lost evidence during the previous administration. We could not sign the required affidavits that the Michael Morton Act and the Richard Miles case require us to sign.”
He said the police department also lacked anyone who could ethically certify that all materials had been turned over. “Because of the police not having anyone, we could not either,” Granberry said. “Unfortunately, that left us with no resort but to dismiss all counts.”
Granberry said his team searched extensively before making the determination.
“We have turned the office upside down looking for it,” he said. “Upstairs where we have storage… we have looked everywhere and could not find it.”
He called the outcome “a huge disappointment,” noting the families of 14 alleged victims were in court Friday when the dismissal was announced.
“We’ve got 14 victims and their families who came forward and gave their testimony and talked about intimate things, and now they are left without criminal recourse,” Granberry said. “It’s frustrating, but it’s the law, and it’s the ethical thing to do.”
Villarreal, who had been free on bond throughout the case, walked out of the courthouse a free man. Granberry declined to comment on whether the doctor could resume medical practice, saying, “I have no idea and I’m not going to speculate on that.”
Granberry also did not speculate on how the evidence disappeared, only saying it occurred before he took office. “You’re asking me to speculate,” he said. “The answer is, it’s not anywhere in this office and it’s not anywhere this office has control of.”
He said the case could only be revisited if the missing materials were somehow recovered and if the statute of limitations allows it. But even that scenario is uncertain.
“If you don’t know what you lost, how do you know when you found it?” Granberry said.
The district attorney apologized and said his administration is working to restore public confidence.
“We’re working hard every day to correct these kinds of problems and regain the trust of the citizens of Nueces County,” he said.
Granberry said he is not aware of any other pending cases affected by missing evidence but pledged transparency if new issues arise.