Trials for Malaer, Mitchell delayed

Former Gonzales city employee Billy Malaer, terminated on Aug. 8, 2011, stemming from an ongoing investigation of the business operations at the J.B. Wells Arena, has once again had his trial reset, this time for Aug. 31.

Prior to Wednesday’s scheduled proceedings with Judge W.C. Kirkendall’s 2nd 25th District Court, Terry Collins, Malaer’s attorney, consulted with District Attorney Heather McMinn. Both parties agreed to a reset date of Aug. 31.

Malaer had been indicted by a Gonzales County Grand Jury on two counts of tampering with a government document, “the government document being the time sheets of city employees who were, in fact, not working,” McMinn said.

Court dates of April 26 and July 11 had been set for Malaer, who had not been arrested prior to the indictments.

Malaer had served as director of community services for the city, which had management responsibilities over J.B. Wells Park, Independence Park, the golf course, swimming pool, airport operations and city cemeteries.

Malaer was the second of three city employees fired during a four-month period from July to October 2011.

Milton Tyrone Mitchell

Another trial reset from Wednesday’s court date was that of Milton Tyrone Mitchell, who was rescheduled for Aug. 27.

Mitchell, the man accused of murdering Dyron James Green in a December 2011 shooting, also went through changes in bond amounts.

Mitchell had been re-incarcerated on June 27 after his bond was modified during a hearing held earlier that day in the 2nd 25th District Court.

Kirkendall increased Mitchell’s bond amount to $150,000 that morning, nullifying the original $50,000 amount set by Justice of the Peace Precinct 1 Deidra Voigt on Dec. 13, 2011, the day after the shooting.

“We filed the motion to increase bond on Tyrone Mitchell because we felt that the $50,000 bond was insufficient to secure his presence in court,” McMinn had said. “We also feel that Mitchell is a danger to the community.

“In addition, I requested that the case be set on the next available trial docket,” she said. “I’m relieved that [Mitchell] is in custody.”

The case in question stems from an incident that occurred at a rural Gonzales County job site five miles south of Gonzales on FM 1116 (Pilgrim Road) where both men worked, in which Green also a resident of Gonzales, was fatally wounded.

According to Gonzales County Sheriff Glen Sachtleben, Mitchell shot and killed Green on Dec. 12, 2011, at the business where both men worked about five miles south of Gonzales on FM 1116.