CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — The family of one of the teenagers previously detained in connection with the murder of 17-year-old Caleb Martinezsays their son was taken into custody without the proper evidence. The family also claims they were not properly notified of the arrest. The family has chosen to speak anonymously.
"It is kind of disturbing to get a phone call from another student rather than the proper authorities," said the teen's mother.
They say their son was taken in by authorities while in school in front of all of his high school classmates.
"Why didn't they come to my home, to his home, to come knock on the dooy, the right way, 'we got a warrant for your son'", said the teen's father.
KRIS 6 News spoke to Lt. Michael Pena with the Corpus Christi Police Department. He explained what the normal procedure in a situation like this entails.
"It was a directive to apprehend, it doesn't stipulate when or where they can be picked up, just that they should be picked up or they shall be picked up," he said.
Lt. Pena states that if they were to notify the parents before the detention it could impact the investigation, or in some cases, help a suspect avoid apprehension.
The family of the boy detained said they had to do their own investigating to prove their son was not at the scene of the crime and provide their own surveillance video to prove his whereabouts.
"As soon as the detectives found that the information they received contradicted what the witness had told the detectives, the detectives immediately notified the DA's office so they could work to get those juveniles released," Pena said.
The family says although their son is out, they believe he has been affected emotionally by this situation.
'Do you think as citizens, residents of Corpus Christi, you all have lost your faith in the Corpus Christi Police Department?" we asked the family.
"Absolutely, it says on their police cars protect and serve," the teen's mother replied.
Digital Content Producer Alyssa Flores contributed to this story.
