LOMETA, Texas (KXXV) — Melissa Cantu, Lometa’s former chief of police, has been found not guilty of two felony wiretapping charges. Over the past year, Cantu’s defense team argued that the case was politically motivated.
“We have a municipal court judge, mayor, a city secretary, a Texas ranger – who destroyed evidence – all conspired to go after the chief of police for doing her job,” said Ben Michael, part of Cantu’s defense team.
The situation began when City Secretary Elizabeth Lambert accused Municipal Court Judge Sharon Watson and her clerk, Stephanie Sweet, of bullying and creating a hostile work environment. Lambert reached out to Cantu for help, and Cantu accessed surveillance footage with permission from the mayor to investigate the allegations.
However, the trial revealed that when the footage became damaging to Watson and Sweet, they responded by accusing Cantu of wiretapping.
“I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say that this affected Mel Cantu’s life,” Michael said.
“She lost her job as the police chief, and her reputation suffered in the community. This is a small community of a few thousand people. They all know each other, and she was wrongly accused of misconduct for over a year.”
While Cantu was acquitted, Michael says the impact on her life remains.
“Even though we got justice for her in the end, it’s not the same as true justice because real justice would mean addressing the harm that was caused to my client unfairly,” Michael said.
The case concluded after a 12-person jury deliberated for two hours before returning a not-guilty verdict.
Cantu filed a civil lawsuit against the City of Lometa for refusing to pay overtime wages. That case is ongoing.
