New trial date set for former Fort Worth Library Bar owner accused of rape
A new trial date has been scheduled for an ex-Fort Worth bar owner accused of sexual assault at his bar and at a downtown Fort Worth hotel.
In August, a Tarrant County jury failed to reach a decision in the trial of 42-year-old Israel Espiricueta of Austin, the former owner of The Library Bar.
State District Judge Chris Wolfe declared a mistrial after the jury of 10 men and two women sent the judge their 10th note, saying they couldn’t reach a “unanimous decision.”
“The biggest factor in this case was consent,” said defense attorney Brandon Barnett of Fort Worth shortly after the judge’s ruling in August. Barnett noted the jury struggled with it.
This week, court officials placed Espiricueta’s case on the trial docket for April 20.
Espiricueta is accused of raping a woman at the downtown bar on the morning of Dec. 23, 2017, and then sexually assaulting her at a downtown Fort Worth hotel.
In August, prosecutors tried only the sexual assault case at the bar.
Jurors were trying to decide whether the evidence proved Espiricueta raped a woman in the Fort Worth bar of which he was part owner. Prosecutors argued the woman was passed out at The Library Bar after business hours on the morning of Dec. 23, 2017, when Espiricueta assaulted her. Defense attorneys argued the sex was consensual.
Weeks after the mistrial, Espiricueta, who has been out of jail on $10,000 bond, sought and received bond changes.
His defense attorneys requested the elimination of any curfew for Espiricueta, which was 10 p.m., to allow him to work at his Austin bar, seek other employment and remove his GPS tracking device.
Espiricueta did not object to the continued condition of the bond that he not consume alcohol, according to the motion.
It was the second time since May 2019 that defense attorneys have filed a motion to modify bond conditions.
“The State is resisting these modifications despite the jury’s 10-2 vote for acquittal,” said Chip Lewis of Houston in a September email to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
In October, he was allowed to work at his Austin bar until 3 a.m. and be home at 3:30 a.m., according to Tarrant County Criminal court records.
Testimony and closing arguments
Back in August, Tarrant County Assistant District Attorney Julie Harbin encouraged the jury to re-watch video of the alleged assault.
“She is not moving the entire time,” Harbin told jurors in August in closing arguments. “The only one moving was him as he’s thrusting into her.”
Harbin reminded jurors the woman testified that she did not remember the sex in the bar.
“She will never know everything that happened to her,” Harbin said. “He was looking for an opportunity and took it.”
Harbin also pointed out the woman suffered numerous bruises and tears in her genital area. The woman told police Espiricueta continued to sexually assault her at a hotel after they left the bar.
“When she woke up, she was in so much pain,” the prosecutor said.
The woman’s name has not been used in the case. She testified that she had gone out just for drinks at the bar, at 611 Houston St., that night in December 2017.
In his closing arguments, Lewis told jurors there was no doubt that the woman expressed consent to have sex with Espiricueta.
“We cannot allow injustice based on this evidence,” Lewis said referring to what defense attorneys called gaps in the case presented by prosecutors. “He just ain’t a rapist.”
Espiricueta testified that the sex was consensual and the woman was never unconscious. The 42-year old Austin man took the witness stand during the trial.
He said he drove the woman to a downtown Fort Worth hotel, and checked into a room where they continued to have sex.
Lewis said the woman initiated the contacts with Espiricueta, consented and later regretted what she did because she had a boyfriend.
