Judge denies suppression motion; testimony details teller interaction, bodycam footage and four-hour detention in fraud case

Judge Stephanie Boyd presiding in the 187th Judicial District Court denied a defense motion to suppress statements by defendant Carlos Perez in State of Texas v. Carlos Perez (Cause No. 2025CR005408), concluding on the record that Perez’s statements were made voluntarily and that officers’ testimony about custodial circumstances was credible.

The ruling came after the court reviewed exhibits and evidence admitted at an outside-the-presence-of-the-jury hearing. The judge said, “The court finds that the officers were credible and truthful” and that Perez “freely and voluntarily waived his Miranda rights” after being read the warnings, language the court repeated when explaining its factual findings about timing and custody.

The denial cleared the way for the state to present the body-worn and vehicle camera footage that prosecutors had offered. The court admitted State’s Exhibits 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 after hearing objections from defense counsel about hearsay and the potential to “bolster” officer testimony; the judge overruled those objections and said any specific hearsay disputes could be raised when the recording was played or offered into evidence.

Prosecutors called Wells Fargo teller Wendy Castellon and SAPD officers Alex Shaway (cover officer) and Officer Zachary…