Former Refugio police officer accused of harming infant with pepper spray found not guilty

REFUGIO — A former police officer accused of injuring a 3-day-old infant with pepper spray was acquitted on Wednesday, the third day of a trial that concluded after less than a half-hour of deliberation by the jury.

Lee Jordan, 38, became emotional as the judge read aloud the verdict, which cleared the former Refugio police officer of any wrongdoing in a March 2021 traffic stop that sparked a criminal investigation and civil litigation against the city from the infant's mother.

Jordan celebrated with family just outside of the courtroom. His attorney, Eric Perkins, said his client was "very grateful for the outcome."

The trial hinged on a March 12, 2021, traffic stop Jordan conducted on a residential road in Refugio. The former officer pulled over a vehicle driven by Michael Paredes, whom he clocked going 47 mph in a 30 mph zone.

Body camera footage shown to jurors depicted Jordan speaking with the couple before returning to his vehicle to make some calls on the radio and a handheld phone. The father had an outstanding warrant charging him with unlawful possession of a firearm, a charge that stemmed from an interaction Jordan had with Paredes weeks before.

More: Former Refugio officer accused of injuring infant with pepper spray stands trial

The footage showed Jordan going to make the arrest when Paredes asks the officer if he can make a phone call, to which Jordan says no. Paredes becomes visibly angry, saying, "Don't make me get (expletive) violent because I will."

In the video, Jordan uses the pepper spray, spraying it for about two seconds, while Rico Paredes is in the back seat with his mother, who had given birth just days before.

After Jordan pulls Paredes from the vehicle, the father yells out, trying to wipe his eyes as he is put in handcuffs.

"My baby is in there! My baby is in there," he yelled.

Perkins said the verdict showcases the small community's backing of law enforcement, which he said has faced persecution for "simply doing their job" in recent years.

"We've had a real rough time the past two years defending law enforcement. It's been just a meat grinder," he said. "I'm glad to find that reason and common sense prevail even in small-town America under these kinds of circumstances."

Jordan was charged with injury to a child, a state jail felony. A conviction would have a jail sentence of 180 days to two years, as well as up to a $10,000 fine. Twenty-fourth District Court Judge Jack Marr presided over the trial.

Jordan was also charged with official oppression, a Class A misdemeanor. However, a district judge dismissed that charge last year after he found prosecutors used charging language that lacked specificity, court records show.

Assistant District Attorney Tim Poynter, who prosecuted the case, said cases against peace officers are challenging because of the community's backing of law enforcement. Though the case faltered, he said he didn't regret taking it to trial because he believed "clear and unjustifiable harm" was done to the infant, Rico Paredes.

"No one is above the law. No one is below the law. Just because (Jordan) was a police officer doesn't make him above the law. Just because Rico Paredes' family did not act the way most people would act doesn't mean Rico is below the law," he said. "I thought injury was clear. ... I'd try it again."

Poynter and Perkins selected a jury on Monday. On Tuesday, Poynter called the Refugio police chief, an officer who assisted with the traffic stop, the Texas Ranger who investigated the incident and the mother of the infant, Chelsea Berlanga, to the stand.

Wednesday morning, Perkins called two emergency medical responders who treated the infant and a use-of-force expert to the stand.

More: Refugio mother sues city after officer accused of pepper-spraying her child

Perkins' closing argument centered on the accounts of the emergency medical responders, who testified that they did not observe any injuries on the infant, and the use-of-force expert, who said Jordan's response was "extremely reserved."

Perkins also pointed to medical records that did not state the infant had been injured.

"Before, there was no evidence of injury, and now there's evidence of no injury. When you meld those two, they cancel each other out," Perkins said.

Poynter told jurors the injury to the child was clear in the video, as the baby was crying, shaking his fists and "fighting for his life." He contended Jordan's response would have been appropriate if Michael Paredes' child and wife had not been in the vehicle.

"(Michael Paredes) was not complying. ... He had it coming," Poynter said. "But Rico is an innocent third person with zero control of anything."

After the verdict, in a message to the Caller-Times, Paredes said he hopes Jordan does not become a police officer somewhere else.

"I don't want anybody else getting hurt by this guy," he wrote. "In my eyes, this will happen again somewhere else in a different county."

The acquittal comes months after Berlanga, the mother, filed a lawsuit seeking damages from the city of Refugio. The lawsuit states the infant suffered difficulty breathing, irritated skin and swollen eyes, and he had a "blister-like rash" on his face and a "pimple-like irritation" on his chin.

In a response filed on Dec. 17, 2021, lawyers representing the city sought governmental immunity and argued that all actions Jordan took were based on probable cause, according to the document.

Perkins said Jordan is considering intervening in that lawsuit by filing a counterclaim for defamation against the city and Berlanga.

"We haven't made that final decision yet. But it is one of the options he's considering," Perkins said.

The parties agreed not to discuss the lawsuit, which was still pending as of Wednesday, during the trial.

Just days before the March traffic stop, the Refugio City Council named Jordan the 2020 Officer of the Year — his first year on the small police force. The same council placed him on leave in the weeks after his criminal indictment and, in January, voted to terminate his employment with the city.

Perkins said Jordan will not try to get his job back with the Refugio Police Department.

"I can virtually guarantee you that he wants nothing more to do with Refugio, Texas," Perkins said.

Chase Rogers covers local government and industry in South Texas. Contact him at chase.rogers@caller.com or on Twitter @chasedrogers. You can support local journalism with a subscription to the Caller-Times.

This article originally appeared on Corpus Christi Caller Times: Refugio officer accused of pepper-spraying infant found not guilty