Staff Photo by Matt Hamilton / Hugo Garcia Padilla, left, leaves the courtroom with his lawyer Caldwell Huckabee on Tuesday, February 1, 2022 at the courthouse at Soddy-Daisy City Hall.SODDY-DAISY - Charges stemming from a gunshot in Soddy-Daisy last month have been dropped after the state determined it was a case of mistaken identity - a low-level criminal case that became a flashpoint in the campaign for Hamilton County district attorney.
Nashville Assistant District Attorney Tammy Meade handled the case to avoid concerns about a conflict of interest involving Hamilton County District Attorney Neal Pinkston.
Meade notified Soddy-Daisy Judge Marty Lasley the state was moving to dismiss the charges at the arraignment of Hugo Garcia Padilla on Tuesday.
"We are comfortable and confident with the fact Hugo Garcia Padilla is the wrong person that should have been charged in this case of mistaken identity," Meade said.
Padilla, 40, had been charged with reckless endangerment and two counts of aggravated assault after an argument in early January resulted in a bullet being fired into the ground.
An arrest report says police went to the address on Barbee Road, where residents complained that a "Hugo Garcia-Parilla" came to the home intoxicated and started the argument.
Later, however, police were notified they had arrested the wrong suspect and the victims instead said the suspect was Hugo Garcia Robles, who lives a block apart and shares a similar name.
Meade added that the description given to police was vague in the first place.
(READ MORE: District Attorney Pinkston cites work on cold cases as key factor in re-election bid)
"We're grateful that he's been exonerated, that the charges have been dismissed, and now he wants to go on with his life, which involves a very successful tree service business," said Caldwell Huckabay, Padilla's attorney.
Padilla, speaking through a translator, also said he was grateful all parties have agreed he is an innocent man.
Lasley said he was presented with warrants for Robles' arrest but did not act on them because he was concerned they could end up charging the wrong suspect for the second time.
Now, though, he said he will further review the warrants with the police officers who had presented them initially and act on them "in short order."
"Well hallelujah, with all that swirl, we needed someone outside to take a look at it," Lasley told Meade. "Thank you, that puts me at ease."
Meade, who will continue to handle the case, also has been tasked with looking into allegations against Coty Wamp, legal counsel for the Hamilton County Sheriff's Office, of obstruction of justice and witness tampering.
In a Jan. 6 referral to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, Pinkston made the allegations against Wamp and said the victims took back their original stories after their interactions with Wamp.
Wamp has maintained she was appropriately calling out a miscarriage of justice, since the wrong man was arrested. She is challenging Pinkston in the May 3 Republican primary election.
(READ MORE: Hamilton County DA opponents Pinkston, Wamp clash at first event together)
TBI officials for weeks told the Times Free Press they would not make their findings public, and would instead report back to Pinkston. But the newspaper reported last week that an outside DA was being brought in.
The Board of Professional Responsibility of the Supreme Court of Tennessee determined Pinkston continuing to oversee the matter could appear to be a conflict of interest considering the subject of the referral is a political rival.
The selection of the Nashville District Attorney's Office to take over the case was made known Monday, which Wamp said made it clear there was a conflict of interest from the beginning. Pinkston has repeatedly declined comment.
Contact Logan Hullinger at lhullinger@timesfreepress.com or 814-319-5158. Follow him on Twitter @LoganHullinger.