Des’ public defender, Christopher J. Weinbel, has submitted a motion to acquit Des, or alternately, provide for a new trial, in light of the State’s failure to identify how the the box of zines constituted evidence or prove that Des intended to conceal it.

Writing in the motion, Weinbel notes plainly that prosecutors “relied entirely on stacked inferences and speculation, which the Fifth Circuit consistently rejects as proof… [T]he Government’s own admissions highlight that the object of the offense was unknown, leaving the jury to speculate about what constituted the alleged evidence.” The motion concludes by affirming that “no rational juror could find guilt beyond a reasonable doubt as to Mr. Sanchez.”

The motion will be considered by Judge Pittman, who oversaw the highly unfavorable trial against nine Prairieland defendants.