On October 1, 2018, the Kyle Police Department began an investigation into a John D. Ferrara. The investigation started because of a conversation Mr. Ferrara and Chief Barnett were having on Facebook Messenger.
The investigation placed a pseudonym on the public records of the victim in the cause. This would mean the public would not know the true identity of the victim, but certain law enforcement agencies or others involved in the investigation may or may not be aware of the victims real identity
What you see below is the Case Coversheet from the City of Kyle. It was created on October 1, 2018, and listed stalking and harassment as the claims against Mr. Ferrara.
What you will see right below the Case Coversheet is the start of a supplemental report. In the paragraph that is not redacted the City of Kyle has identified the victim to request the use of a pseudonym; however, what one may not see is the missing offense report to initiate a complaint against Mr. Ferrara.
In any regards, the conversation between Mr. Ferrara and Chief Barnett was related to Mr. Ferrara’s recollection of history between Mr. Ferrara and Chief Barnett. Specifically, the conversation involved Chief Barnett’s time as the Princeton Police Department Police Chief. The communication was sent to Chief Barnett’s professional Facebook messenger.
Fast forward, almost two years later, to April 15, 2020, and Chief Barnett finally replies to Mr. Ferrara after not replying for almost two years.
On April 15, 2020, Chief Barnett claims that Mr. Ferrara has published false, misleading, and libelous information about Chief Barnett. Chief Barnett further insists that Mr. Ferrara has lied, misled, harassed, and stalked Chief Barnett for years. However, when Chief Barnett was asked, which piece of information was slander, libelous, or misleading, he would not respond.
Instead, Chief Barnett had his employee obtain a warrant for Mr. Ferrara, for stalking.
The warrant was obtained on or about April 23rd, 2020. The warrant was executed on or about May 27, 2020 and Mr. Ferrara was arrested and transported to the Bexar County Jail. He was there for about two days before Mr. Ferrara was released on a bail bond.
On July 6, 2020, Mr. Ferrara filled a formal Ethics Complaint with the City of Kyle. The complaint alleges the following:
- Appearance of Impropriety
- Misuse of Public Property and Resources
- Including Others to Act, by Position of Authority Over Them
- Failure to Report Self
- Abuse of Official Capacity
- Tampering with Government Records
- Filing a False Report
- Federal Stalking
The complete Ethics Complaint can be found HERE.
On July 20, 2020, Chief Barnett made his reply. In his reply, he claims he filed an official report with the City of Kyle because he claimed Mr. Ferrara was harassing and stalking him. He further states the conduct has been going on for the previous two years.
In August of 2020, an Ethics Committee Meeting was held. During the meeting, it was discussed on in a public transmission from the City of Kyle to place the Ethics Complaint on hold, pending the conclusions of any criminal actions towards Mr. Ferrara. In placing it on hold, it was specifically stated, continuing with the Ethics Complaint would complicate the discovery process of the criminal proceedings, and Mr. Ferrara is going to have a lot of charges. This was recorded and is published with the City of Kyle.
However, on or about October 1, 2020, the Hays County District Attorney’s Office recused themselves from the review of any charges for Mr. Ferrara, and/or the Kyle Police Department Investigation, and/or the Warrant used to arrest Mr. Ferrara.
The full motion, available in the Hays County District Clerk’s Office outlines the reasons for recusal. The order for recusal is below:
In the order, it identifies the new prosecutors are required to determine if Mr. Ferrara has committed any crimes, if any crimes were committed in process of the Kyle Police Department Investigation and/or if there is any action needed on the Warrant used to arrest Mr. Ferrara.
In December, Mr. Ferrara filed a Habeas Corpus Petition with the Hays County District Court. A hearing was set on April 13, 2021, and Mr. Ferrara was informed he should request relief in the County Court, as there are not any felonies to consider towards Mr. Ferrara.
On April 14, 2021, Mr Ferrara filed a petition at the County Court level. On June 9, 2021, a hearing occurred. Mr. Ferrara was not released from a felony bail bond, and still remains on it today.
On June 25, 2021, after Mr. Ferrara filed an appeal to the Texas Court of Appeals, the Pro Tem filed a harassment case on Mr. Ferrara.
In filing the case, the Pro Tem filed a complaint and information with a pseudonym of John Smith. On September 1, 2021, the Pro Tem motioned to remove the pseudonym and display Chief Barnett as the victims. On September 7, 2021, the judge ordered the new information to display Chief Barnett as the victim of harassment.
Why is this a big deal? Because Chief Barnett is the Police Chief for the City of Kyle and he used his own officers to investigate Mr. Ferrara for over two years. The whole time, Chief Barnett claims he was harassed and stalked by Mr. Ferrara, yet nothing happens for those two years, and once Mr. Ferrara started to blog, Chief Barnett orders his officers to have Mr, Ferrara arrested. The matter seems like a legitimate concern to the public and one the public should be made aware about; however, in the process, it appears the mainstream media has been interfered with to overlook the actions of a Police Chief. There are numerous municipal ordinances, personnel policies, police policies and procedures violated to have Mr. Ferrara arrested and under surveillance for years, without any merit.
But now, everyone can follow the public court proceedings and see how they conclude.