LAKE DALLAS, Texas — Defense attorneys representing a man involved in a bar shooting alleged the detective on the case was corrupt after he admitted under oath he said he'd "slant" his grand jury testimony in favor of another person involved in the fight.
Nick Wohr and Gina Morgan said police initially believed their client, David Marsh, was the victim of the fight because he had been shot. They allege the Lake Dallas detective in charge of the case decided Marsh was instead a suspect a year after the incident once the detective realized he knew the shooter's wife himself.
The Lake Dallas Police Chief denied any allegations of corruption Thursday and said he stood by Detective Greg Noseff, who said during trial late last month that he misspoke and should've used a different word.
“It wasn’t meant in the way that it sounded,” Chief Alan Sawyer said. “I think what Detective Noseff was trying to say the evidence didn’t support a true indictment.”
Sawyer said Noseff hadn’t seen the shooter’s wife in decades and he “stands by his officers.”
The Denton County District Attorney's office said Noseff's comment amounted to a verbal slip and they stand by the case. Marsh was found guilty on an assault charge earlier this month and sentenced to two year's probation.
“It really smells honestly,” said Marsh’s lawyer Gina Morgan. “Smells of corruption. I will tell you this is the first case where I have ever used that word. But I believed it was warranted. There was too much here to ignore.”
The case centers around a fight and shooting outside The Point Restaurant and Sports Bar in Lake Dallas in September 2021. Surveillance video captured Marsh punching a man, who then pulled a gun and shot him, Nick Wohr -- another of Marsh’s lawyers – said.
A year later Wohr said the police department changed the initial narrative and asked the grand jury to indict his client, Marsh, instead of the shooter. The district attorney's office said surveillance video clearly showed Marsh assaulting the shooter before he pulled the gun.
As part of discovery evidence in the case, Wohr said the district attorney’s office turned over video where Noseff told the shooter he would “slant his grand jury testimony” so the group would indict Marsh over the shooter.
A transcript of the trial showed Noseff admitted he used the word “slant” in reference to the grand jury testimony.
“We think that it’s pretty egregious that would be said at all,” Wohr said. “And we think that’s uncommon.”
This incident is the latest issue involving Lake Dallas police that has made headlines. On the same day as Noseff’s testimony, a Denton County judge threw out a murder case and let the suspect out of jail because of issues with how the police department handled discovery evidence in the case, both the prosecutor’s office and defense attorney said.