Constable cleared of charge following arrest

By LOU ANTONELLI
Managing Editor

Red River County Constable Barnaby Resendiz will not face any charges as a result of his New Year’s Day arrest for deadly conduct.

District Attorney Val Varley said he decided to drop the charge after going over all the reports and statements related to the incident.

Resendiz was arrested after shooting a gun indoors, but Varley said his determination was that it was an “accidental discharge.”

“He didn’t commit a crime,” said Varley. “It’s not an offense to accidentally discharge a gun indoors.”
While the Red River County Sheriff’s Office may have had probable cause for the deadly conduct arrest – a Class A misdemeanor - it is the District Attorney’s decision whether to pursue charges, said Varley.

The crucial point is that for there to be deadly conduct, someone has to be “in imminent danger of serious bodily injury, and that didn’t happen here,” said Varley. “There was no reckless behavior.”

The arrest and dismissal should have no effect on the status of Resendiz’s peace officer certifications, he added.

Varley said he was “infuriated” by gossip, on Facebook and elsewhere, that Resendiz received preferential treatment.

“I don’t treat law enforcement and peace officers different than anyone else,” he said, adding that he’s prosecuted many people in law enforcement over the years and sent some of them to jail.