SANSOM PARK, Texas — Newly obtained records show that in 2021 police in the Tarrant County city of Sansom Park mishandled evidence, allowing a man who'd failed a field sobriety test to avoid a DWI charge.
Six months later, the man drunkenly drove into a family's SUV, killing an off-duty Euless police officer.
Documents obtained by WFAA clarify why the Sansom Park Police Department did not initially pursue a case against Dylan Molina, now in the Coffield State Prison for intoxication manslaughter.
The 28-year-old is first eligible for parole in 2030, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice said.
A police report from the May 2021 incident indicates Sansom Park police stopped Molina for driving with taillights that were off or broken. The man smelled like liquor and could not form complete answers to questions, the officer attested.
Dash camera video shows Molina stumbling through a subsequent field sobriety test. Police handcuffed the man and took him to a hospital to draw a blood sample.
The next day, a police sergeant emailed the responding officers that they did not have probable cause to pursue the charge.
"We had a lot of issues," then-sergeant Sara Straten wrote.
The email confirms officers broke chain of custody by storing the blood sample inside an unsecured break room refrigerator.
"The break room isn't secure," Straten wrote. "Plus, I don't really want blood in the same refrigerator as my food."
Officers also failed to hand in some paperwork to a judge who would've issued a formal arrest warrant.
"Let's try to remember that we are taking these people's freedom when we make an arrest," Straten concluded. "If we make bad arrests, we will for sure lose the case, but might also get caught up in a civil suit."
Molina escaped the charge. The blood sample later revealed he'd had a blood-alcohol content of .212, nearly triple the legal limit of .08.
"It's critical that evidence be properly tracked, secured, and stored to ensure the integrity of the judicial process," criminal defense attorney Leigh Davis said. "It's very much a fundamental aspect of the criminal justice system."
Had prosecutors successfully convicted Molina of a misdemeanor DWI charge in the May 2021 incident, Davis said the man would likely have had to enroll in a DWI education class or participate in a victim impact panel.
"They both serve slightly different purposes, but it's meant to help a person understand the potential consequences of their actions and to take steps to avoid those in the future," Davis added.
Molina might've faced other penalties, including a license suspension and jail time.
Six months after Sansom Park police dropped the case against Molina, he drunkenly drove into a family. Alex Cervantes, a Euless police officer, died in the wreck. His widow spent weeks in a coma. Their two children were hurt, also.
Investigators said Molina had consumed eight double vodka cocktails at a Fuzzy's Taco Shop before he ran a red light into Cervantes's car.
Molina accepted a plea deal and a 15-year prison sentence.
The Sansom Park Police Department has a new chief, who noted in a statement to WFAA that officers who handled Molina's case are no longer employed there.
"Since becoming chief of the Sansom Park Police Department in 2022, we have expended our department personnel, including supervisory personnel," chief James Burchfield said. "We have completely re-written our police policy manual and we strive daily to serve the citizens of Sansom Park and Tarrant County, while adhering to accepted law enforcement best practice standards."