CORPUS CHRISTI, Tx — A Corpus Christi crime scene investigator fired for falsifying evidence has raised serious questions about the integrity of potentially hundreds of criminal cases, including the case of Justin Tovar, who's accused of killing his 15-year-old girlfriend Eriya Ruiz.
Alexis Tuttle, a former crime scene investigator with the Corpus Christi Police Department, was terminated in January 2024 after an internal affairs investigation revealed she had lost evidence in a death investigation and attempted to cover it up by creating replacement samples.
The case stemmed from a November 18, 2023 incident where Tuttle was dispatched to process a police cruiser that had transported a man arrested for public intoxication. The man later died from a brain bleed at the city's detention center hours after his arrest.
As part of the routine investigation, Tuttle collected two swabs of what appeared to be blood from the cruiser's back seat. However, she subsequently lost these samples.
Five days later, another technician discovered the missing swabs under a locker in a crime scene vehicle. That employee reported it to a supervisor, who then found an evidence bag with two swabs from the same cruiser in the evidence locker.
When confronted, Tuttle admitted to returning to the vehicle the next day, taking new samples and labeling them as if they were the original evidence.
The investigation revealed that between Tuttle's initial collection and her unauthorized second sampling, another suspect had bled in the same backseat of the police cruiser. When notified about potential contamination, Tuttle reportedly dismissed concerns, stating, "That's okay, the blood I need is on the right side. That happened on the left."
However, according to a corrective action report obtained via a Public Information Request during the internal affairs investigation, "The employee acknowledged that they were aware of possible contamination prior to collecting the second sample and did not disclose the information."
It's not the mistake that gets you in trouble, it's the cover-up.
CCPD immediately notified the Nueces County District Attorney's Office that it was investigating Tuttle and she was placed on administrative leave.
Following Tuttle's termination, the department reviewed six of her prior cases and found three with improper evidence packaging. An open, unlabeled blood sample was also discovered on her desk.
In response to the incident, CCPD has implemented more frequent inspections of the evidence locker and strengthened ethics training.
The department also notified the District Attorney, the American National Standards Institute National Accreditation Board, and the Texas Forensic Science Commission of the department's findings.
"This appeared to be a one-off event, bad decision-making, and bad for us because we have to deal with it," said Assistant Chief Todd Green.
In a letter to Assistant Chief Green, Tuttle defended herself writing, "I know in this field we strive to be perfect and are held to a higher standard. But in reality, no one is perfect. The only one who is perfect is the Lord."
In a memo from CCPD crime lab manager Robert May to internal affairs, he writes, "The consequences of CSI Alexis Tuttle's actions regarding this incident are both immediate and potentially far-reaching. It is especially concerning because this is not a matter of simple negligence, but a conscious decision to violate policy and engage in unethical behavior. Like anything in law enforcement, a crime lab relies on not only its competence but also its trustworthiness. Trust is our currency — trust that our actions match our words, that our procedures are valid (and followed), and that we are committed to finding the truth no matter where the evidence leads us. That trust was breached."
Defense attorneys, however, are concerned about the broader implications.
Kyle Hoelscher, a defense attorney whose client benefited from Tuttle's evidence mishandling in a separate case, believes the department must review all cases involving the former CSI.
"We're talking about a person who worked on a ton of cases. Every criminal attorney in town would know that last name," Hoelscher said. "If they're trying to recreate evidence or falsifying evidence in some way, then who's to say they didn't do it in other cases?"
This has impacted another high-profile case. The defense team in the murder case of 15-year-old Eriya Ruiz— who police said was allegedly stabbed to death by her boyfriend Justin Tovar—has filed a motion seeking disclosure of evidence related to Tuttle, claiming the Nueces County District Attorney has not yet revealed her record of evidence mishandling.
District Attorney James "Jimmy" Granberry told 6 Investigates that his office is required to disclose such evidence in any case involving Tuttle and is typically handled during a pre-trial hearing.
If her testimony is crucial to a case, she will be called to testify, and "it will be up to the jury to decide if this was simply a one-off or something that undermines the credibility of all evidence," Granberry said in a written statement.
Hoelscher said the district attorney's office, rather than disclosing this information on a case-by-case basis, would benefit from a central file accessible by any defense attorney for any individual who has been placed on a Brady list.
Prior to the Michael Morton Act, Texas statutes did not require much by the way of disclosure from prosecutors. For example, we were not required to disclose a report or statement of a witness until after they testified. The court then would give a copy to the defense, lawyer and allow some brief period of time for them to prepare for cross examination. When I joined the office in 1990 as a young prosecutor Grant Jones, who was then the District Attorney, had a rule that we were to show them everything that we were going to use in court. His philosophy was that if they knew what was coming, they would be more likely to work out a resolution short of going to trial. In my experience that was correct. However, that was our local practice and was not the same throughout the state. For example, I had cases in another county where the defense was allowed to look at the state’s file and make notes but not allowed to photocopy. There were variations on the rule across the state of Texas.
After the Michael Morton Act was passed in 2013, new rules went into effect for the entire state. The state is now required to give all evidence, good or bad for the state, to the defense team.
In December of 2023 the Corpus Christi Police Department notified the District Attorney’s Office that they had placed Crime Scene Investigator (CSI) A. Tuttle on administrative leave to investigate an allegation of mishandling evidence in a non-criminal investigation. An internal investigation resulted in her termination of employment in January of 2024.
Per the Morton act we are now required to advise the defense lawyers in any cases we have involving Ms. Tuttle of her indiscretion. If we call her to the stand, and if it is relevant and material, the judge may allow the defense to cross examine her using that information. This is a matter that is usually taken up in a pre-trial hearing.
So, in short, we disclose the information and then determine whether we need Ms. Tuttle as a witness, based on how crucial her evidence is to our case. If it is crucial, we will call her as a witness and she’ll just have to bear the cross-examination. Then the jury can decide whether to believe this was a one-off issue; a stupid career-ending mistake to be sure, but not indicative of her true character, or that they can’t believe a word from her ever again. In the latter case they will then have to decide whether the remaining evidence is sufficient to convict.
Going forward it is impossible to predict the impact as it will be assessed on a case-by-case basis, and is certainly not a position we like to be in. That being said, human error and frailty is ultimately a large part of the criminal practice.
According to documents obtained by KRIS 6 Investigates, Tuttle had previously been reprimanded for failing to seal evidence properly during a proficiency test just one month before the incident that led to her termination.
"We strive to have people with a high degree of integrity, and unfortunately, sometimes we have people who make it through who make bad decisions," Green said.
Hoelscher emphasized the high stakes involved, "If you're working in a factory, fine, a couple of widgets fly out of the factory, but in criminal law, if someone makes errors, then someone goes to prison who's not supposed to."
Corpus Christi Police Department officials confirmed that Alexis Tuttle handled over 400 criminal cases during her tenure. KRIS 6 News is continuing to investigate how this evidence mishandling may impact convictions.
"Going forward, it is impossible to predict the impact as it will be assessed on a case-by-case basis and is certainly not a position we like to be in. That being said, human error and frailty is ultimately a large part of the criminal practice," Granberry wrote in a statement.
