The open records request process tends to be misconstrued.
The actual decision is made at the local level, and generally they don't have to give out information that is being used and held for the investigation of a crime. The subsequent referral to the AG's office, when they say no, is more or less a verification of the reasoning used at the local level, and is used (a) to provide you a fully-legal answer in its wording, so that the local jurisdiction doesn't awkwardly say the wrong thing and cause themselves problems when they truly have the right to say no, and (b) to prevent a rogue county or city from claiming invalid exceptions and simply stonewalling FOIA requests without the legal right to do so.
However, I doubt that there is a new development being indicated in this case simply based on the rejection you received. What you are not seeing is that one FOIA request is not the same as another. And under Texas law there is a very broad (and commonly used) exception from FOIA disclosures when it comes to investigative information that has been obtained and is being used in working an open criminal case. Who did you ask, what exactly did you ask for, and on what basis did you submit your request, are crucial issues in trying to get info, and I'd wager that <modsnip>'s request was different than yours in one or more of those areas, in a way that mattered.
