Gustavo Zavala-Garcia Waives Court Appearance

TYLER – A Smith County murder suspect has waived his court appearance previously scheduled for Tuesday afternoon. By his action, Gustavo Zavala-Garcia acknowledges the charges being brought against him and has entered a not guilty plea. He has been charged with the death of Kayla Gomez-Orozco, 10. She disappeared last November from a Bullard church during worship service. Her body was found days later inside a well on the suspect’s property. According to an arrest affidavit, a witness said they saw the man with Kayla shortly before her disappearance. Family members said he is a cousin who acted like an uncle to the girl. A capital murder warrant for his arrest was signed by District Judge Jack Skeen on November 6.

Last Friday, Zavala-Garcia, who is on a suicide watch, began a sit-down around 2:00pm when he climbed to the top of a basketball goal. He stayed on top the goal, which is on the roof of the jail, for around an hour. Jailers had removed his handcuffs per previous state instructions. But, those instructions have changed. They had previously been told that handcuffs had to be removed from inmates going to recreation. They called the Texas Commission on Jail Standards Friday afternoon after the incident. A returned call was received Saturday from the Assistant Director for Texas Commission on Jail Standards. He clarified that inmates going to recreation can remain handcuffed and shackled if warranted. This is in contradiction to a previous mandate from an employee from the Texas Commission on Jail Standards who was in the complaint department and is no longer employed by the commission. According to a news release from Sheriff Larry Smith, they are pleased with the decision and the clarification will prevent incidents such as happened last Friday.