UPDATE: New Attorney Appointed in Potter County Capital Murder Case

Criminal proceedings in a Potter County capital murder case are underway after a new attorney was appointed for the accused.

Trey Philip Geenleaf, 30, is charged with capital murder in connection with the shooting death of Kendra Vela in February of this year. Following his indictment in March, Greenleaf appeared before Judge Dee Johnson in 47th District Court with his retained counsel, Ronald Spriggs, and was given a bond of $1 million.

Court documents for a hearing that took place September 27 state that "Counsel of record declined to appear because he is no longer licensed and believed he was not allowed to appear."

Greenleaf was subsequently "advised that his attorney's status changed and he was no longer eligible to practice." Greenleaf then requested appointed representation. Court documents currently reflect that Jesse Quackenbush is the active attorney for Greenleaf.

The status listing for Ronald Spriggs on the State Bar of Texas website shows that the attorney is ineligible to practice law. Of the several sanctions listed on the profile page, the current judgment for Spriggs is a partially probated suspension of 60 months and an active suspension of 90 days that began on September 1, 2023.

The disciplinary action against Spriggs was a result of a grievance brought by a defendant in a federal case who had retained his services in 2020. In the judgment published by the District 13 Grievance Committee Evidentiary Panel, Spriggs was hired and paid $11,000 for his legal services.

As per the judgement, upon the termination of representation, Spriggs was found to have failed to reimburse the advance payments that had not yet been earned. The total sum owed to his former client was shown to be $6,720.