Embattled El Paso District Attorney Yvonne Rosales resigned Monday, a departure that came to light during a court hearing ahead of a Wednesday hearing regarding a violation of the gag order issued in the 2019 Walmart shooting case. Rosales' tenure will end Dec. 14, one day before she was scheduled to appear in court to possibly be suspended until the removal suit against her was resolved, the El Paso Times reports. In her resignation letter to Gov. Greg Abbott, Rosales says that effective immediately, her first assistant, Salah George Al-Hanna, will become acting district attorney. She said Al-Hanna will ensure that "the daily operations of the office will continue to run smoothly and minimize any disruption in serving the victims of crime."
Rosales first took office in January of last year. It will fall to the governor to appoint a replacement to serve out the remainder of her term, which expires in 2024. Rosales has been embroiled in multiple court battles over the past several months, with Monday's hearing related to the removal petition filed against her by defense attorney Omar Carmona. El Paso County Attorney Jo Anne Bernal announced earlier this month she would prosecute a case against Rosales. Carmona filed a petition accusing her of "official misconduct and continued incompetence," citing a decrease in assault cases against alleged abusers and her handling of a capital murder case in 2021, which was dismissed due to "prosecutorial vindictiveness and more."