Friday, March 30, 2018

AT SAENZ'S DA'S OFFICE, A VERY POLITICIZED ARREST POLICY

Image result for luis v. saenz
Special to El Rrun-Rrun

Remember when Joey Garza, the son of former Cameron District Clerk Aurora Garza was brought in for arraignment after he was arrested for stealing more than $100,000 from the dying at the Sunshine Haven Hospice in Olmito?

Joey was allowed to have a private arraignment and was never arrested by the sheriff or the "strike force" of the Cameron County District Attorney's Office. Instead, on  a Friday afternoon, he was brought in to court and given the chance to pay restitution. Somehow, Aurorita was able to twist a few arms and gather the bucks to keep her Joey from spending one day in jail.

How about the arrest of Melinda Gilman Gonzalez, the child-support collection clerk and stepdaughter of Asst. DA Pete Gilman who got arrested and charged with taking between $8,000 and $10,000 in payments by parents under court order?

The scheme involved taking payments after 4:30 p.m. when the computerized system was closed and then giving out handwritten receipts that were never entered in the system.

 De la Garza attempted to keep the matter quiet and handle it in her own special way. She allowed the woman to resign, then allowed Gilman to walk her into the Cameron County Sheriff's Department and had her booked and released on her dad's signature. She, too, was allowed to pay restitution and maintain her freedom.

To make matters worse, De la Garza is alleged to have been mentioned in a statement by a county employee who implicated her in attempting to prevent investigators from discovering the evidence (the receipt books) by urging them to make the books disappear.

And Cameron County District Attorney Luis V. Saenz appointed a special prosecutor to try the cases of his niece and nephew who were charged with running over a pedestrian, leaving the scene of the accident, and driving while intoxicated. Police charged siblings Kacie and Victor Garcia with leaving the site of the accident after striking 21-year-old Gilbert Perez and fleeing the scene of the accident leaving him critically injured on the side of the road.

In Kacie's case, the DWI and the Intoxication Assault With a Motor Vehicle were dismissed as part of the plea bargain agreement. She pleaded guilty to the felony charge of Accident Involving Injury or Death. The DA's office agreed to the dismissal of the two charges and to have a visiting judge sentence her to five years probation and to apply deferred adjudication after that so that the offense would not show up on her record.

In her brother Victor's case, the crackerjack defense also garnered him a dismissal on the Accident Involving Injury or Death felony charge and his nolo contendre guilty plea on the Failure to Report Felony Where Severe Bodily Injury or Death Results resulted in the judge going along the agreement between the DA's Office and defense attorney Ed Stapleton and assessed him 12 months probation and 24 hours of community service. The court also went along with placing Victor with deferred adjudication so that after he served his probation, the record of the offense would be erased.

There were no "strike force" arrests or shows of force. Everything was kept hush-hush.

When Cameron County Tax Assessor-Collector Tony Yzaguirre and three other tax office employees were arrested and charged with more than a dozen offenses, the show was on. There were Rangers, FBI, DEA, DA's Office, and local police involved in the made-for-TV arrests. Ultimately, Yzaguirre was exonerated by a jury in Nueces County and the charges against the others were dropped and some reinstated. But that wasn't on TV.

And take the case of Frankie Joe Olivo who was charged with two misdemeanor charges of stalking and harassment. In his case, the DA sent in what looked like SWAT assault and dragged Olivo out of his 404th District Court coordinator office and escorted him out in handcuffs.

We are a family blog here so we won't print the nature of the crime listed on the indictments. Suffice to say that it involved him taking pictures of his manhood and sending them via his cell phone to a female legal staffer of a local attorney who did not solicit them.

Is it just us, or is there a decidedly separate and unequal treatment by Saenz's office of particular cases?

24 comments:

Anonymous said...

Could you revisit when Saenz was DA and grand juries were investigating his office back when. Could you revisit Joe Alvarado my friend and his comment about having a bullet for who, just before he killed his self. Remember the tape recordings made by a young lady who worked for Saenz. If you don't ask Rene or George.

Anonymous said...

Well at least he does his job not like Villalobos who ran a prostitution ring with his call girls

Anonymous said...

Drain the swamp ! Yzaguirre, sylvia garza Perra walking time bombs

Anonymous said...

WHEN WILL CARLOS ELIZONDO GO BACK TO COURT ? BROWNSVILLE FIRE DEPARTMENT

Pat Ahumada said...

You got to be kidding, tell me this revelation is not so. After all, the DA is not political.

Anonymous said...

Last year, my mother was ripped off by the owners of Salinas auto sales on Southmost. They ripped off a bunch of people, will they go to jail or will Mr. Saenz give them a deal also?
Do you job Mr.Saenz put them in jail or are they your compadres since their attorney, Noe Garza is married to one of your employees?

Anonymous said...

You are such an idiot. Get your facts straight Montoya. Frankie was arrested in the parking lot of the courthouse not hauled out of the office in handcuffs. Obviously everyone except for you saw that. But I guess whatever makes your story more believable for you readers right?

Ralph Tipton said...

Is there a reason you left out the most obvious in your fucking face insult..? The murder of my wife Mary Tipton. All the evidence was there the Pd, sheriff dept. DA office all took part in covering it up. Even a federal ageant was implicated.. Yet no one was guilty..in never happened... Yet we go over the list of digraceful acts against us..for what?? So all 13 or 14 people make time to come out to support us when we stand..while all otheres just watch... You people kept these roaches in power..now suffer it or remove them.

Anonymous said...

These people got away with murder. Have to understand county is a business and these people are operating at the cost of the community. Cops judges and lawyers feed of each other. Pete Gilman has to pay that favor just as aurora. Having all that insight and misusing it gives u the best tool for blackmailing and extortion. And we all keep the same criminals in office. Wake up Brownsville

Anonymous said...

Where is F.T. "Dut" Graham when you need him. He was the last straight down the line prosecutor to have held that office.

Anonymous said...

Flush the Toilet ! No more shit from TEAM SAENZ .

Anonymous said...

Too bad they didn’t go all black ops on your mole, because he’s the bigger man of the two of you.

Anonymous said...

Is he related to Elia? Maybe that is why she thinks she can get away with murder.
She has no shame and will be tracking her body into the board room this coming Tuesday to continue insisting that her babies get special privileges at BISD. She wants everybody fired if they dared breath hot air over her adopted children.
Where are the real judges when it comes to applying law and precedent. Is that why people stay away from voting?

Former County Insider said...

Yet, the idiots in this county keep letting these crooks run for office and then even voting for them! Montoya, there is no one to blame other than the Feds! They had some of these crooks on the hook and just picked and choose who to prosecute! They had crooked Tony and his auto thieves, but let them walk? We all know that Aurora was the biggest crook by shifting cases to certain courts, and I'll leave the judges out of this since we all know what took place. There is and always going to be special privileges to certain individuals and until we vote in good politicians, when? This kind of crap will continue! Oh well, but yet we dish our President!

Anonymous said...

We need someone here to "Empty the Swamp". Political corruption and political favoritism is rampant. But we must remember that the people of Cameron County "don't just accept corruption, but they demand and participate eagerly in corruption."

Anonymous said...

Saenz is just a corrupt as Villalobos, but smarter in the way he manages his corruption.

don pedro said...

Folks come on family is family and they do get special treatment no mater what anyone says, right luis, like that car dealer says "somos familia" adios

Matlock said...

I remember Mr. Joe Alvarado, took a bullet never was know exactly why? I gather it had something to do with inter workings inside the DA's office back then, who was the Da then? judge Ben Uresti? , George Gavito knows exactly what it was all about, I remember the susie mowbray case where George and his gang fabricated all kinds of evidence against her. I am sure if we ask George Gavito in front a Grand Jury we can find out exactly what Joe meant, hey George suelta la sopa dude. The truth shall set you free. But the way Georgie porgie can you really sleep at night when the demons come around to ask you out to dance?

Anonymous said...

Luis Saenz is responsible for Joe Alvarado committing suicide, before he shot himself, he had a bullet for Luis Saenz. Luis Saenz is EVIL....

Anonymous said...

George Gavito now hates Luis Saenz, Saenz was responsible for Joe Alvarado's death, he caused it. The pressure/stress that he put on him was intolerable. Juan dig into this situation/case/suicide. Why did Joe have a bullet for Luis ? Joe's last word's were "I have a bullet for Luis" why, will never know, unless, you dig Juan. Thank You remembering Joe, He was an honest law enforcement individual who meant well but, Luis was EVIL.

Anonymous said...

Shut up Sylvia your are the evilest of all you idiot take your tiara and shove it

Anonymous said...

Joe Alvarado was the investigator on a 1992 supposedly suicide, on a 35 year old man who worked with Nabisco. His wife was messing around with the so called cop named Joe Silva and was represented by Rene Oliveira. He was really killed by the cops but was covered- up. There was a $350,000 life insurance.

Anonymous said...

You're the BEST Sylvia ! You showed all those tough talking anonymous scum .

What happened with everyone working against her ?

Thought she was done ?

"One term county clerk ."

To another 4 years ! CHEERS

Anonymous said...

I heard they are building a new wing at a federal prison camp, at a minimum security facility on Saufley Field outside the Pensacola Naval Air Station. I wonder who they are expecting.

rita