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McALLEN — A federal judge on Wednesday denied three motions to dismiss the lawsuit filed by attorneys representing Lizelle Gonzalez against Starr County, District Attorney Gocha A. Ramirez, Assistant District Attorney Alexandria Lynn Barrera and Sheriff Rene Fuentes.
Gonzalez, who was previously identified in jail and court records as Lizelle Herrera, was falsely indicted and jailed on April 7, 2022 on a murder charge for having a self-induced abortion.
She spent three days in jail before the Starr County district attorney dismissed the unfounded charges. She is seeking $1,000,000 in damages over the claims made against her.
U.S. District Judge Drew B. Tipton made the ruling following brief arguments made by attorneys representing Starr County and Gonzalez.
Attorneys representing the county, D.A., assistant D.A. and the sheriff had argued that the basis for the dismissal was prosecutorial immunity.
“We’re glad to say that the court did dismiss all three of the defendants’ motions to dismiss,” I. Cecilia Garza, who is representing Gonzalez, said following the judge’s ruling. “So we will continue to fight for Lizelle. We’re very excited about what’s going forward, and we’re happy to fight for her and keep going on this case.”
Garza said her client will be excited that the rulings were made so early.
“We’re very pleased that the judge made the ruling so quickly and from the bench,” Garza said. “This gives us the opportunity to move forward and move forward fast. I’m sure that Lizelle is going to be very excited when we let her know that we crossed this initial hurdle and we can move forward.”
