The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals has reversed a lower appeals court ruling in the case of a Bryan man charged with murder in connection with the 2017 shooting death of 19-year-old Johnathan Albert Cordell Munoz.
The court issued its opinion Thursday, Oct. 29, in the case of Saul Lee Suarez, reversing the 10th Court of Appeals in Brazos County.
The case centers on evidence investigators found while searching the apartment where Suarez lived with his mother. According to court documents, Suarez was 18 when he was charged with murder after Munoz was shot and killed in Bryan in September 2017.
The documents show that during the investigation, Suarez was taken into custody outside his apartment. Investigators reportedly then received permission from his mother to search the apartment, according to court records. Police recovered multiple firearms, ammunition and a cell phone.
Suarez later filed a motion that sought to have that evidence suppressed, arguing his mother did not have authority to consent to a search of his bedroom. His mother testified that no one in the apartment was allowed to enter Suarez's bedroom without his permission, including her, despite the lease being in her name and her paying the rent.
The trial court granted Suarez's motion to suppress. The 10th Court of Appeals upheld that decision, concluding the detective should have made further inquiries before relying on the mother's consent to search the bedroom. The State then took the case to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals.
The State argued the detective reasonably believed Suarez's mother had authority to consent to the search. The Court of Criminal Appeals granted the State's petition for review, and oral arguments were held Sept. 30, 2025, at Texas A&M University School of Law.
On Oct. 29, 2026, the Court of Criminal Appeals reversed the Court of Appeals' judgment, according to the court documents.
The case stems from Munoz's 2017 shooting death. Suarez was indicted that year on a murder charge in connection with the shooting.
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