A Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) trooper has surrendered to authorities on the single misdemeanor charge of perjury related to the arrest and subsequent in-custody suicide of Sandra Bland.
DPS trooper Brian Encinia was allowed to surrender rather than face being arrested on Thursday after a grand jury returned an indictment for misdemeanor perjury. According to Waller County Sheriff Glenn Smith, Encinia was allowed to turn himself in to a Texas Ranger who then transported him to the jail.
Several news reporters were on the scene when Encinia arrived to be booked into the jail and processed out on bond. According to a video posted by Fox 26’s Isiah Carey, Encinia arrived into the secure arrival facility of the Waller County jail a few minutes ago. The steel garage type door was quickly slammed shut to keep cameras from capturing Encinia’s “perp walk.”
On Wednesday, Breitbart Texas reported that the grand jury did not believe Encinia’s statement in the probable cause affidavit where he said, “I had Bland exit the vehicle to further conduct a safe traffic investigation.” This became the basis for the perjury charge.
Sheriff Smith told Breitbart Texas’ Lana Shadwick on Thursday morning that the county clerk had processed the criminal complaint and that a warrant had been issued. The sheriff said he would allow Encinia until 8:30 Friday morning to surrender. Encinia surrendered late Thursday afternoon.
The booking process is expected to take about a half hour. Smith told Breitbart Texas in an interview Wednesday evening on the courthouse steps that Encinia would be processed through the same procedure that Sandra Bland and another inmate would face. He will be booked into the jail, fingerprinted, and photographed. He will then face a magistrate judge who will read the charges, read him his rights and then allow him to post bond.
The sheriff said it is possible that Encinia could get a personal recognizance bond or that it could be as much as $5,000.
Bob Price serves as associate editor and senior political news contributor for Breitbart Texas and is a member of the original Breitbart Texas team. Follow him on Twitter@BobPriceBBTX.