State Trooper Tyson Metzig, whose ex-wife suggested he may have been involved in the murder of Longview, Texas businessman Ron Horaney, was working near Jacksonville on the day that Mr. Horaney was murdered, according to records released yesterday evening by the Texas Department of Public Safety.
The records — which you can read for yourself by clicking here — do not provide a conclusive alibi. Mr. Metzig stopped a driver around 4 p.m. and subsequently arrested him for felony DWI, according to the arrest report. Mr. Horaney was shot to death around 7 p.m.
In a cover letter, DPS wrote that it had no responsive records other than the ones that I uploaded, and that seems somewhat strange. Here’s exactly what I requested:
(1) All of Trooper Metzig’s email communications (sent or received) on the dates listed above [i.e., May 29-31, 2016].
(2) All of Trooper Metzig’s text messages (sent or received) on the dates listed above.
(3) Records of all outgoing or incoming phone calls on the dates listed above.
(4) Payroll or other records indicating what time shifts (if any) Trooper Metzig worked on the dates listed above.
(5) Any incident or arrest reports submitted by Trooper Metzig on the dates above.
Here’s the explanation from DPS:
With respect to Items #1-4 of your request, the Department has conducted a good faith search for any and all information related to your request and has not been able to locate any responsive records. This may be due to the Department’s records retention policy, which mandates the destruction of Department records in accordance with our state-approved retention schedule. See Gov’t Code § 441.187. Accordingly, even if the Department generated the requested record, we no longer maintain a copy. Please note that records indicating the time shifts of a commissioned officer are also protected from disclosure by section 411.00755 of the Government Code which limits the information that can be released from the personnel record of a commissioned officer of the Department of Public Safety.
As I reported on Wednesday, federal authorities are now reviewing the case.
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