A jury heard evidence and closing arguments Sept. 24, 2022, in Bexar County’s 187th District Court in the felony-assault case alleging that Duran Evans choked Zaniye (Zani) Jefferson on Sept. 24, 2022. Judge Stephanie Boyd read the charge to the jury and instructed jurors on the elements of felony assault by impeding breathing or circulation.

The prosecution told jurors that the complainant and her grandmother testified a hand was placed around the complainant’s neck and that recorded calls and written messages corroborated contact. Prosecutor: “She wanted you guys to hear the truth,” the state said in closing, summarizing the witnesses’ testimony and asking jurors to find the evidence supports guilt.

Defense counsel mounted a credibility-focused defense, emphasizing what counsel called shifting accounts. In closing, defense counsel repeatedly pointed to differences in versions of what hand was used, whether one or two hands were involved, where the complainant was seated and even the vehicle described. Defense counsel argued those inconsistencies created reasonable doubt and urged acquittal: “There was never any choke,” the defense said during closing.

Witness testimony included former Live Oak officer Kyle Kennedy, who testified he handed blank witness forms to complainants and generally takes initial statements but does not typically conduct full interviews. Kennedy said his body-worn camera appeared to cut off at a point when a complainant was about to give a verbal statement; on cross he confirmed that he later entered a guilty plea to aggravated-assault-by-a-public-servant and surrendered his license. When asked whether he turned his camera off, Kennedy said, “I did not turn my camera off.”

Detective Rudy Jimenez described his investigative work, telling jurors he had followed up on inconsistencies about the number of hands and which hand was used, that he interviewed multiple people by phone and that the elements for probable cause were met when the case was submitted. Jimenez said he reviewed text messages provided to him and that the complainant later admitted sending profane messages, but he testified that those texts did not negate the choking allegation.

The defense impeached aspects of the investigation, showing a witness statement that appears to bear the name of a department clerk and questioning why some statements were blank while others bore a clerk’s name. The court admitted a set of text-message pages (defense exhibit 4) without objection.

After both sides argued, the judge instructed the jury on statutory elements and reasonable doubt. The jury was sent to deliberate. The transcript ends with jurors leaving for deliberations; the verdict is not contained in the provided record.

What the record shows and what it does not: police testimony and submitted text messages are part of the evidence before jurors; arguments over witness credibility and investigative steps were central. The transcript does not record the jury’s verdict or any post-verdict orders.