Euless police turn over to DA the case of Grapevine officer shooting unarmed man

In a one-sentence email, Euless police reported Tuesday that they have completed the criminal investigation into the shooting of an unarmed Mexican immigrant by a Grapevine police officer and have turned the case over to the Tarrant County district attorney’s office.

Ruben García Villalpando, 31, of North Richland Hills was shot to death Feb. 20 by Grapevine police officer Robert Clark after a brief pursuit that ended on the shoulder of a Texas 121 service road in Euless.

Grapevine police said Garcia got out of his vehicle with his hands up and continued to walk toward Clark even though he was “repeatedly told to stop.” Clark shot García in the chest twice.

Euless investigators talked to at least 40 witnesses, Lt. Eric Starnes, a Euless police spokesman, has told the Star-Telegram.

Tuesday night, Starnes could not be reached to comment.

Garcia’s brother-in-law, Fernando Romero, said a Euless police detective called him Tuesday afternoon.

Romero’s sister, Martha Romero, is Garcia’s widow, and she and her four children moved in with him after the shooting.

Romero said the detective told him that the case is no longer in their hands and that it’s the district attorney’s investigation now.

“The detective said it’s going to take a few months for them to get anything,” Romero said.

Dallas-based attorney Domingo Garcia said the family is “extremely disappointed” that Euless police did not arrest Clark after their investigation.

“When you finish an investigation, if you believe someone committed a crime, there’s an arrest,” Garcia said. “A normal person, when the criminal investigation is finished, the police department arrests them, and there’s a ‘perp walk.’ It’s clear the officer is getting preferred treatment.”

Garcia said Euless police did not make a formal recommendation to prosecutors about whether to charge the officer.

Sam Jordan, a spokeswoman for the district attorney’s office, said she could not verify that Tuesday night, but in any case, the investigation will not be complete until the district attorney’s office does its own investigation.

“We still have to do our side of the investigation, and once we complete that, we’ll put it before the grand jury,” Jordan said.

She said they will not put a timetable on that.

Grapevine police are conducting their own administrative investigation, which is ongoing, said Sgt. Robert Eberling, a police spokesman.

“We are pleased that the investigation will soon be reviewed by the Tarrant County grand jury,” Eberling wrote in an email.

This story was originally published April 7, 2015 at 7:47 PM with the headline "Euless police turn over to DA the case of Grapevine officer shooting unarmed man."