Judge denies defense motion to acquit in Rude case
Published 1:08 pm Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Jurors in the trial of on-leave Austin Police Cpt. Curt Rude heard a CD recording Wednesday that consisted of an interview between Rude and an agent from the state’s Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.
On the recording, which lasted roughly an hour and a half, the agent heavily questioned Rude about why he took the painkiller OxyContin from the department’s evidence room on Nov. 6, 2007.
The interview was recorded a week after the incident.
Rude is charged with felony theft, drug possession and gross misdemeanor interfering with property in official custody after allegedly taking two bottles of the prescription drug OxyContin Nov. 6, 2007, the same day as his election to the Austin School Board.
Rude still serves on the board, with his term expiring in 2011.
According to a criminal complaint, the drug in evidence was labeled “Mark Johnson,” a close friend of Rude’s and a former KAAL-TV reporter who died of an OxyContin overdose in earlier 2007.
Following the CD recording, the defense made a motion to acquit the case on all three counts, but Judge Kevin Lund denied the motion, saying there was enough evidence for the trial to go to the jury.
Following the motion’s denial, the defense called its first witness.