It has been 20 years since there was a different district attorney in McLennan County.

That’s going to take some time to sink in for both John Segrest and Abel Reyna. But both men said the day after Reyna defeated Segrest that they hope to execute a smooth transition of power as Reyna takes office Jan. 4.

Segrest, 60, was off from work Wednesday, catching up on rest and helping tend to visiting grandsons.

District Attorney-elect Abel Reyna hugs a supporter at his election watch party Tuesday night.
Rod Aydelotte/Tribune-Herald

Reyna, 38, didn’t make it into his law office, either. He also got some rest and spent time with his girlfriend.

Meanwhile, a stable of veteran prosecutors in Segrest’s office spent much of Wednesday analyzing the election and pondering their futures.

“It is not realistic to think that I am going to come in and fire everybody up there,” Reyna said.

“Things don’t work that way. I told them from the get-go that when you are losing the battle, you don’t change the soldiers, you change the general. All the staff will be evaluated, and we will see who even wants to stay. They will be evaluated based on my expectations.”

Many on Segrest’s staff polled Wednesday said they would like to continue doing what they have been doing — serving the public, meting out justice and getting criminals off the streets.

While most publicly supported Segrest, they said they hope it is not too late to mend fences with Reyna and to continue building on the office stability that Segrest created during his 20-year tenure, the longest by a DA in McLennan County’s history.

Analyzing the election

The analytical Segrest, who earns $141,717 annually, wasn’t in much of a mood Wednesday to try to dissect the election or what might have led to his defeat.

“I am sure there are pundits out there much wiser than I who see things in that election that I can’t explain. After all, Danny Volcik is our new county treasurer,” Segrest said, referring to the retired state trooper and perennial candidate who also has run for sheriff and county commissioner through the years.

“It does no good to go back and look over things that have passed. It makes no difference to the future.”

Segrest, who like Reyna was a criminal defense attorney before he became DA, said it is too early to tell what he might do after leaving office.

“I do have to make a living,” he said.

Beth Toben, Segrest’s deputy first assistant, went through a similar transition when Segrest defeated Paul Gartner in 1990.

“Obviously, we have to commend Abel for running a really good campaign,” Toben said. “We take it personally when he criticizes this office and implies that we are not aggressively prosecuting felony cases. We take deference with that. But obviously, the voters have spoken and we respect the system.”

Dismissal rate

Reyna said he stands by his criticism of the office and its 50 percent dismissal rate, which is just about the norm for counties this size. He said better cooperation with the county’s 17 law enforcement agencies will improve the efficiency of the office.

“It is unacceptable that we refuse 50 percent of the felony cases in McLennan County,” Reyna said. “We are going to have to do something about that. The answer is better coordination with law enforcement to make sure there is sufficient evidence and to review evidence.”

Toben said statistics relating to prosecution rates can often be misleading. For example, she said, a drug offender who forges checks or prescriptions to feed his habit can be charged with multiple offenses. That is done at times to jack up offenders’ bail bonds to keep them in jail and off the streets, she said.

But once the person is sentenced on the most-serious offense, charges involving secondary offenses are often dismissed, leading to a higher dismissal rate but effectively handling the individual offender.

“It is the criminal who is the problem,” she said. “If you take care of the problem without creating excessive paperwork and backlog that will bog down the system, then you have been effective.”

Reyna credited his support from law enforcement for his victory.

Law enforcement

“I think more than in any other race, support from law enforcement in the DA’s race is critical,” Reyna said.

“Law enforcement endorsements are crucial because they are the men and women on the streets. They are working in the hands-on part of it. They watch their work go to the DA’s office, and they monitor what happens . . . But it is important to note that those endorsements weren’t against individual assistant DAs. The endorsements were against the leader, the district attorney.”

Waco Police Chief Brent Stroman, McLennan County Sheriff Larry Lynch and Woodway Public Safety Director Yost Zakhary did not return phone calls to their offices Wednesday seeking comment about the changing of the guard in the DA’s office.

twitherspoon@wacotrib.com

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