BAD SCREENING, MISBEHAVIOR AT SHERIFF'S DATES BACK YEARS

By Juan Montoya

No sooner do we publish misbehavior of Cameron County Sheriff's Dept. deputies, than another story of the dismal personnel screening and vetting of its employees appear in our email.

We told you of the employment of a Army deserter who was not only hired, but was recently promoted in a supervisory role.

Now we learn that the department hired a woman who had been let go from the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) after she was charged with taking money to change test results so that at least two individuals could pass their driving test.

A grand jury charged Veronica Vallejo Orive with Tampering With Government Records and two counts of bribery in January 2004. The indictment charged her with taking money from a woman named Griselda Hernandez and Sabino Martinez for "changing from failing to passing on the driver's license written examination."

Nonetheless, the personnel screening and vetting of potential employees at the department failed to discover this despite the fact that a cursory check of of DPS and court files would have revealed the alleged offenses.

As Sheriff Omar Lucio faces two challengers this March 3 Democratic Primary, these type of revelations probably don't help his effort to remain in office. Lucio, who was first elected in 1997 and then again in 2006, has served as sheriff for nearly 17 years, following his 35-year stint with the Harlingen Police Department.

He is facing former Cameron County District Clerk Eric Garza and former San Benito Police Chief Michael Galvan in the 2020 Democratic Primary.

“The constant demands of a growing county require the expertise, leadership, wisdom and administrative experience to successfully continue guiding this office to meet the needs of the public we serve,” Lucio stated in his reelection announcement.

But while county voters generally like the serviceable octogenarian, his deputies have been "breaking bad" recently.

Aside from the obvious miscalls on personnel screening, examples of deputies behaving badly include:

1. On December 6, 2019, Chief Deputy Gus Reyna called a news conference on behalf of Lucio to inform the public that deputy Victor Francisco Moctezuma had been charged with Official Oppression and Theft, both misdemeanor offenses. Allegedly, Moctezuma had requested the services of a masseuse. During the encounter the Deputy is accused of displaying his Cameron County badge and gun and forcibly raping and taking money from the victim. These charges remain pending against Moctezuma.

2. This came after a November 1, 2019, press release by the department that informed the public that a deputy named Joshua Guajardo had been arrested for Tampering with a Governmental document, a state jail felony. Guajardo was accused of falsifying information by reducing a criminal charge of Driving While Intoxicated to a Public Intoxication charge against a criminal defendant. The criminal charge against Guajardo also remains pending.

Moctezuma is not out of hot water. Still in the air to be to be decided is why the victim’s accusation of felony rape was not included in the charges. Many question why the victim’s statement of facts warranted misdemeanor charges of Official Oppression and Theft were included, but the felony offense of Sexual Assault was not brought forward. Moctezuma remains free on bond. Lucio's assertions that no one is above the law makes some wonder whether law enforcement – including Cameron County District Attorney Luis V. Saenz – are looking after their own? 

That followed the demotion of former Sergeant Daniel Valerio to deputy. Valerio was reprimanded in July of 2019 for falsifying time sheets, which was not his first reprimand at the department, and subsequently he accepted the demotion.