Bostwick said at a hearing Friday that the city is concerned for the safety of its informants and thinks that information about this case

“is not secure” because of suspected leaks in the district attorney’s office.

He said those suspicions have “led to issues” between police and prosecutors.

Sources familiar with the cases said Monday that the DA is about to dismiss cases in which most of the defendants had confessed to their alleged roles in the auto theft.

“After (a) review, the court found the identity of the confidential informants not to be essential to the case and any Brady considerations likewise satisfied,” Bostwick’s letter from the city states. Brady considerations are evidence favorable to defendants that the state is required to turn over to the defense.

Reyna and Jarrett said late Monday they had not received Bostwick’s letter, but promised to dismiss charges of engaging in organized criminal activity against the seven defendants because “all the cases are tainted by my inability to receive a full accounting of the cases from the police department,” Jarrett said.

Jarrett also said without the name of the informants, he can’t determine the admissibility of the confessions.

He has said at two previous hearings held by 19th State District Judge Ralph Strother that he could not properly do his job or correctly assess the cases without knowing the identities of the defendants.

While Strother, a former prosecutor, said he understood Jarrett’s position of wanting to know everything about a case before going to court, the judge said the roles played by informants in the case were “peripheral at most” and did not require disclosures of their identities to the defense under rules of evidence.

Jarrett said his office investigated reports that two employees of the DA’s office leaked information to those associated with the case but found the reports unfounded.

He said the sudden departure of one staff member from the office in May had nothing to do with allegations she was leaking information.

After two court hearings that thrust what had been a private dispute between Jarrett and Waco Police Detective Sherry Kingrey into the public, both sides stressed Monday that this is an isolated incident and that the departments get along fine in most cases.

In the first hearing, Jarrett told the court that Kingrey offered to give the names of the informants to defense attorney Thomas West, but declined to divulge them to his office.

Bostwick said Jarrett misinterpreted Kingrey’s message.

“The department believes that an efficient, professional and respectful relationship with the District Attorney’s Office is critical to successful law enforcement,” Bostwick’s letter states. “The department will endeavor to do its part to meet that goal and is hopeful that there will be a reciprocal effort.”

Reyna said his office must have every piece of information it can to make sure justice is done.

When a detective withholds information, Reyna said, she “jeopardizes the case and subverts 
justice.”

“I have to present the case. I have to sponsor the case. I am the one imputed with all the information of the case. I am in charge of all of that. Not Rick Bostwick. Not Waco PD. Me. I represent the state of Texas,” Reyna said. “You cannot play hide the ball when you are dealing with someone’s constitutional rights.”

Assistant Police Chief Frank Gentsch said Monday he wants his department and the DA’s office to move forward.

“It is the DA’s office’s prerogative on how they handle cases once we transfer them over there,” Gentsch said. “We try to provide them a good, finished work product. We believe we have done that in this case. We continue to want a good and respectful relationship with the district attorney’s office, because it is crucial to law enforcement.”