Special to El Rrun-Rrun
Yolanda Speece’s battle to recover and protect a stray dog she found and rescued has been going on for more than 15 months and has turned into a battle for justice. She says she will continue her fight in the hope that her efforts will prevent this from happening to another Brownsville resident who helps a stray animal.Along the way, she has found that at least three officers with the Brownsville Police Department, the courts, and local attorneys have shied away from helping her to receive justice, or to lift a finger to help her.
Instead, she said, their actions demonstrate that not only have they defended and protected the woman who Yolanda accuses of stealing her dog. She claims that they have tampered with witnesses and civil cases to sabotage her effort to recover what she considers is her rightful pet.
In particular, she points to the actions of BPD officers Efrain “Sonny” Cervantes, Rolando Trujillo, and Commander James Paschall, now listed in the city’s website as Commander, Fiscal Management, as responsible for throwing road blocks to prevent her from receiving justice.
“As I see it, the police aided and abetted in the theft of my dog,’ she said tearfully, but forcefully, in a recent interview. “Either they did it willfully, or they are ignorant of the law concerning strays animals and ownership of pets contained in the city ordinances.”
Speece is not just talking. As a courthouse worker, she knows a bit about the law. That’s why she can’t understand why the system has failed her.
Speece and her husband Tim Speece’s nightmare started when she found the German Shepard dog near her workplace January 20, 2022. She believed the dog – without tags and later they found, without the required vaccines – was at risk of being hit by a car or being hurt. Over the next few weeks, they walked around the neighborhoods next to the courthouse to see if there were any leaflets for a missing dog.
Yolanda and Tim looked for posters and took the dog for walks in the area to see if anyone recognized her. No one did.
They took the stray to the vet to see if it had a microchip. It did not. Over time – for the next three months – they became attached to the female German Shepard.
“We named her Dobie,” she said in the letter she wrote to the chief of police and city manager. “Tim was especially attached to her and had cancer. In essence Dobie was a therapy dog for him. We had Dobie fully vaccinated with the veterinarian. We were going to chip her and comply with the city ordinance after the follow up heartworm checkup, which was pending in May. She missed that checkup because the police coerced and tricked me into handing her over to Samantha Nathaly Vargas, who claimed she was her dog.”
Tim was walking Dobie April 18, 2022 near the Linear Park by the federal courthouse – 88 days after Yolanda had found her wandering aimlessly there. Vargas approached Tim and demanded Tim hand the dog over to her because she owned it. Yolanda said Tim told her she assaulted him by grabbing his wrist, the leash, and tried to steal the dog but Dobie was too heavy. He refused and ran to the car and took the dog home.
That’s when the two officers – first Trujillo, then Cervantes – showed up at their home.
“As I see it, the police aided and abetted in the theft of my dog,’ she said tearfully, but forcefully, in a recent interview. “Either they did it willfully, or they are ignorant of the law concerning strays animals and ownership of pets contained in the city ordinances.”
Speece is not just talking. As a courthouse worker, she knows a bit about the law. That’s why she can’t understand why the system has failed her.
Speece and her husband Tim Speece’s nightmare started when she found the German Shepard dog near her workplace January 20, 2022. She believed the dog – without tags and later they found, without the required vaccines – was at risk of being hit by a car or being hurt. Over the next few weeks, they walked around the neighborhoods next to the courthouse to see if there were any leaflets for a missing dog.
Yolanda and Tim looked for posters and took the dog for walks in the area to see if anyone recognized her. No one did.
They took the stray to the vet to see if it had a microchip. It did not. Over time – for the next three months – they became attached to the female German Shepard.
“We named her Dobie,” she said in the letter she wrote to the chief of police and city manager. “Tim was especially attached to her and had cancer. In essence Dobie was a therapy dog for him. We had Dobie fully vaccinated with the veterinarian. We were going to chip her and comply with the city ordinance after the follow up heartworm checkup, which was pending in May. She missed that checkup because the police coerced and tricked me into handing her over to Samantha Nathaly Vargas, who claimed she was her dog.”
Tim was walking Dobie April 18, 2022 near the Linear Park by the federal courthouse – 88 days after Yolanda had found her wandering aimlessly there. Vargas approached Tim and demanded Tim hand the dog over to her because she owned it. Yolanda said Tim told her she assaulted him by grabbing his wrist, the leash, and tried to steal the dog but Dobie was too heavy. He refused and ran to the car and took the dog home.
That’s when the two officers – first Trujillo, then Cervantes – showed up at their home.
Part 2 Thursday: The Nightmare With the City Begins
51 comments:
People that don't take care of their pets are assholes. I hope Ms. Yolanda gets to keep her dog.
Trujillo?
Cervantes?
Those are experienced police men
Why would she drag their names on a lost dog incident
There are many dogs she can adopt at the shelter if she wishes to
So attorneys, the court and the police are all wrong
She sounds delirious
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, you can reduce your risk of vibriosis by following these tips:
Don't eat raw oysters.
idiota!
Brownsville Tejano artist wins 2023 Songwriter of the Year award Brownsville Tejano artist Lorenzo “Lorenzini” Lopez.
Police Bite Dog
Police officers know few laws. They are not lawyers.
Lawyers know the law but if there is no money involved....they are not interested.
The real story: the owner did not take care of her dog. The dog left.
Dogs are so demanding: you can not go to parties, you can not go shopping etc Dogs will follow you. They run after your car. They jump fences.
you need somebody to be there at home with the dogs to take care of them.
Dogs are not children. Children have grandmothers. Dogs have only the owner.
help a human idiota
Does the other side of the story matter? Not everyone posts signs around. Dogs can venture for very long distances. Should have checked facebook too.
Montoya falls for the sentimental.
again
otra vez, ama.
No tiene juicio, ese brown blogger.
Just because police officers have the experience doesn't mean that they are always right. It could also mean that they know how to make all the wrong moves correctly.
The lady that rescued the dog from the streets made a good faith effort to find the dogs owner. She kept and cared for the dog for 88 days come on how could the woman who took the ladies dog even recognize the dog?
I believe her. I've never had a positive outcome when dealing with animal control or the municipal court.
Mrs. Speece should have contacted animal control. However since she didn't, will she be reimbursed for the maintenance of the dog? Lastly, will Samantha Nathaly Vargas be charged with animal cruelty?
Trujillo? Your lucky he did not shoot the dog, that's one trigger happy dude!
Cervantes? He just does not want to go home during the day to find his wife in the sack with someone else.
So you know these police officers?
They are experienced, you say?
Then they should KNOW THE LAW! If they broke it, I applaud her for speaking out!
She is probably dragging their names into this incident because if they are negligent and ignorant of the law regarding "a lost dog" or the city ordinances, in this instance a STOLEN dog, imagine how many other times these officers have messed up other cases involving anything from assault, murder, drugs, etc.
She is making a serious accusation concerning this.
Why would she do that? What would she have to gain?
Unless these officers were NEGLIGENT AND IGNORANT OF THE LAW! It sounds like they were.
Although these officers are experienced, they are CLEARLY NOT DOING THEIR JOBS CORRECTLY. They have gotten lucky before and probably skated by without people pushing their wrongdoing.
Now someone wants to draw attention to something that may seem insignificant to you but if you think about it, if they messed this up with this, how else have they messed up and on what scale? Whose lives have they ruined because they don't know the law? It could be bigger!
That should concern Brownsville residents. If they can break the law "over a dog" imagine if it is a murder, assault, domestic abuse, drugs, drug money or a crime AGAINST YOU!
I want to know how this pans out. The thing is the Brownsville Police Department has done a lot of stuff they should not get away with! But because of qualified immunity, they get away with breaking the law a lot. That is dangerous to BROWNSVILLE RESIDENTS!
Sec. 10-1061. - Humane treatment
(b)Use of chain or restraint. If any animal is restrained by a chain, leash or similar restraint, it shall be designed and placed to prevent choking or strangulation. Such chain or restraint should not be directly attached to the animal's neck but instead attached to a properly fitted collar
I found a dog with a chain (very long chain) on the middle of the street.
I tried grabbing the chain and the dog would move away. Then a driver stop on top of the chain and I caught the dog.
Next I put notices all around my neighborhood. I asked for permission to place the notices. All people said YES.
Then I found a neighbor that was willing to keep the dog while the dog showed up.
The following day, I got a call from the owner of the dog.
I told him to come by and collect the dog.
The owner knew the lady that was taking care of the dog.
The dog, the chain and the new plate of food went back to the original owner.
I saved a DOG from being killed .
(c)Abandonment. No owner shall abandon any animal. Abandonment consists of leaving such animal for a period in excess of 24 hours without providing for someone to feed, water and check the animal's condition. No owner shall leave an animal by a roadside or other area or leave such animal on either public or private property without the property owner's consent.
So Mrs. A. Sanchez moved to another house and left behind a puppy, a mama cat and the baby cat.
I called Mrs. A. Sanchez and no response.
I told all the neighbors about the puppy and the mama cat. All people felt bad for these animals.
They had no water, no food etc
I contacted Animal Shelter and I informed them about this situation.
They came and save the dog. The mama cat went to another house...poor animals.
Mrs. A. Sanchez did not care. She left. She is happy. What she did was a crime and a sin.
Mrs. Yolanda Speece God is helping you.
You helped a dog.
Be at peace.
If you find another stray dog...give him treats. Keep him and Call the animal control officers.
That is all we can do.
June 12, 2023, at 7:52 AM
This is the Valley. Some Attorneys, some judges, and some Police are crooks.
Remember Abel Limas, Armando Villalobos, and Elia almost landed in jail for allegedly, along with Aurora De La Garza fixing the dockets and the cases?
6/22/23 @ 7am Sometimes, the most experienced are better at dodging and maneuvering crooked roads.
Or maybe those police officers should have known the law.
Oh my can't wait
Erasmo break part II first
I can't wait another day
What's with all the shaved pussy in town, Toya?
last three broads!
Mr delirious they just stole 300 million from the public PUB your police dept is a joke along with the DA pendejo get your head out your ass
If its not your dog its not your dog. 88 days or 800 days, its not your dog. grow up, set the example for our Brownsville youth, and move on. Look at it as a reunion, and buy your own dog.
That Speece lady is not well.
June 13, 2023 at 7:03 AM
Even males shave their pussy and they are looking for Captains that have been out at sea for months.
June 13, 2023 at 11:06 AM
It is her dog.
After 5 days in the animal shelter, the dog goes for adoption.
They you can adopt the dog.
If she had turned the dog in or contacted the Animal Shelter and told them I am going to keep the dog until you find the owner and I want to adopt the dog. (REASON: Animal shelter has faced contamination in their building TWICE and all animals there are in danger).
Then when the real owner was found and she could ask to keep the dog, the first owner would have said YES.
Why? Think.
The dog is the only one in a bad situation. What did the original owner do to recuperate her dog? Why didn't the second owner approached Animal Control and explained her situation with the dog.
Why did the dog escape from the original owner when she wanted to snatch her from the second owner?
Poor dog. He is going to escape again. Or they are going to sell it. Or they will abandon him on a road where she will be killed.
That Speece lady is not well.
June 13, 2023 at 10:47 PM
Wait till you confront police officers, the courts, lawyers, that commit an injustice towards you. They you will understand.
Bien dicho 1047!
Dogs run dig jump hide during thunderstorms also they wander when in heat
I know very responsible fur owners and they too have had their babies leave
Just look on face book and neighbors app
Happens to the best of us
Shoot when Pat ahumada was in an ownership tussle
The courts will side with the owners
If you desperate for a companion adopt from the shelter
Gracias boys in blue
Please catch criminals and ignore these calls which are a waste of tax dollars
Anonymous Anonymous said...
If its not your dog its not your dog. 88 days or 800 days, its not your dog. grow up, set the example for our Brownsville youth, and move on. Look at it as a reunion, and buy your own dog.
June 13, 2023 at 11:06 AM
The State of Texas has the HOLDING period LAWS: from 5 to 7 days the animal shelter keeps the dog until it is sold, adopted or euthanized.
It was her dog because she kept the dog for more than 7 days. However,
One has to move quickly in this situation.
Mrs. Yolanda Speece had to move quickly to claim the dog legally. But her husband is sick and she works all day.....
She was doing the right thing but when she confronted the very SMART first owner, she lost. But Samantha Nathaly Vargas had the power of the police officers that probably told her that she was going to be arrested !!! So she had to listen to the police officers.
People lie to the police officers all the time. It will be interesting to know what Samantha Nathaly Vargas told the officers, showed them pictures, accused Yolanda Speece of staling her dog etc.
its not your dog. grow up, set the example for our Brownsville youth, and move on. Look at it as a reunion, and buy your own dog.
June 13, 2023 at 11:06 AM
Brownsville has no culture of teaching young people to take care of animals.
Parents buy them a puppy and then the parents go and abandon the DOGS on the roads. They dogs are everywhere in Brownsville. People are afraid of them.
BROWNSVILLE, Texas -- A teen who pleaded guilty to killing a neighborhood puppy in Brownsville has been sentenced to 18 months in state jail.
19-year-old Mario Alberto Gasca, who pleaded guilty to cruelty
Another teen faces trial over the December death of the dog.
Police say the animal had been kicked and stabbed.
BROWNSVILLE, Texas (ValleyCentral) — Ricardo Pecina’s American Bulldog named Pandora, was stabbed to death and found on the sidewalk Sunday on the 6300 block of Tecate Drive in Brownsville. Pecina said a neighbor caught the suspect on camera stabbing her multiple times.
“He came behind her and attacked her and you can see where she threw herself to the floor and she was defenseless, he could have just let her go,” said Pecina.
Juan Rodriguez was arrested by the Cameron County Sheriff’s Office
The City of Brownsville has no protocol, guidelines, etc
about finding a STRAY DOG, A LOST DOG,
They need to improve on this matter.
Juan Montoya:
I have two stories about lost pets.
First: I found a black ugly cat. She was PREGNANT. I took a picture, posted flyers, and talked to all the people in the neighborhood.
Here comes a lady and says "It looks like my cat but she can not get pregnant. My husband took her to get spayed/neuter" HUSBAND: when will a husband spend money on a cat? He never did. Now I have the cat at home and her kittens.
Second: I found a dog. A female dog. She was pregnant. I checked all the lost dogs flyers and I posted a picture of the dog in all the LOST DOGS blogs, facebooks. A lady from McAllen contacted me and said "It is my dog." I told her that the lost dog was running wild, escaped from evil doers and was pregnant. The owner never came to pick up the dog. I took the dog to the vet and saved the dog from dying. Now the dog is at my home.
WHY OWNER REFUSED TO COLLECT HER DOG? The dog was stolen, was now a suffering dog, that was mistreated and had bad memories.
PRICE FOR ALL THIS: fleas, ticks, scratches and MONEY.
June 12, 2023 at 10:23 AM
so your mama is white and you are brown but how? como chingas jotito. Leave ese bro de las prietas y millonario del rancho idiota. open your own blog jotitio con tu white mama brown pendejo.
Someone made the argument that dogs travel for miles. Dogs don't travel far from where there is food, water and people who they trust or who they belong to. The only reason dogs travel far is because no one is looking for them. No one is taking care of them. Sounds like that is the case with Dobie.
Facebook isn't a good option either because YOU HAVE TO BE FRIENDS WITH THE POSTER and the poster has to depend on other people to share the post of a lost dog if that.
If you don't know the person on Facebook, you never see their post. There are millions of posts that some of us will never see in our lifetimes on FACEBOOK unless they go viral.
Think about it. There are other social media that can be used but if the person is not on that social media, then it will not get to the person who found the dog and the message just floats in cyberspace. And nowadays, so many people have opted to leave Facebook so a post on Facebook is useless.
In this day and age, if the dog is lost and you don't go looking for it on foot or in your car or put up signs, you have ABANDONED the dog. You must make a good faith effort to look for the dog within minutes of it going missing.
TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE!
This Speece lady found the dog in an older part of town where a lot of older people live. If that is the case, then chances are a lot of these people use OLD SCHOOL METHODS to find their lost dog, like fliers or walking around their neighborhood looking for their dog.
A large German Shepherd is not an easy dog to lose! You have to be pretty negligent or you just don't care to look for it.
When walking around the neighborhood, I see missing dog fliers are everywhere.
Someone said, on the public opinion, "if it is not your dog, it is not your dog. 88 days or 800 days, its not your dog." According to Chapter 10-1001, THE DOG BELONGED TO SPEECE AND CERVANTES AND TRUJILLO BROKE THE LAW!!!!!
The legal definition of an OWNER is that if you provide a dog a place to eat, drink and sleep FOR THREE DAYS, YOU ARE LEGALLY DEFINED AS THE OWNER and the authorities have to FOLLOW THE LAW BASED ON THAT LEGAL DEFINITION!
Speece found the dog on the street(no tags?). There is no telling how long the dog had been "RUNNING AT LARGE" which is also against the law in BROWNSVILLE.
She took the dog in and gave it a safe, stable home. IT IS HER DOG BASED ON CITY MUNICIPAL CODE, ANONYMOUS!
THAT IS THE EXAMPLE THAT NEEDS TO BE SET FOR THE POLICE SO THEY KNOW THE LAW AND DON'T DO THIS TO ANOTHER BROWNSVILLE RESIDENT!
If officers Trujillo and Cervantes, who are "experienced policemen", are disregarding the law on a "lost dog incident" then what are they doing on a larger scale?
But why should she adopt another dog at the shelter if she RESCUED AN ABANDONED DOG that was running the streets?
People have always said that our pets are like members of the family. She did a lot of bonding in those days she had the dog.
It is pretty heartless to disregard the emotional investment she made on the dog that was taken away because the BROWNSVILLE POLICE DEPARTMENT DIDN'T KNOW THE LAW OR SIMPLY CHOSE TO IGNORE IT. TO IGNORE THAT LAW MEANS THE OFFICERS BROKE THE LAW!
BROKE THE LAW! And you should be concerned if you live in Brownsville. If they did this over a dog, think about how else THEY ARE BREAKING THE LAW AND VIOLATING PEOPLE's RIGHTS.
DIDN'T TRUJILLO kill someone or was it his father? Or was it both?
That makes Brownsville dangerous for its residents and their personal rights and their rights to property!
¡OJO! y ¡AGUAS!
Someone said that people who don't take care of their pets are assholes.
AGREED!!!!
I hope Yolanda gets her dog.
Let's hope Vargas hasn't hurt the dog in some way or killed it so she doesn't have to give the dog back.
THIS IS BROWNSVILLE!
If people kill their spouses or their children so they can't get away from them, it is possible. You never know what people are capable of!
Just look at how the PD is behaving with Yolanda.
Why are you saying that Speece lady is "not well" or she is "delirious"?
She found a dog. She loved and bonded with the dog and it was taken from her because the Brownsville Police Department didn't know the law. The legal definition of an OWNER according to the Brownsville MUNICIPAL CODE, if you take care of a dog for more than three days, YOU ARE LEGALLY DEFINED AS THE OWNER!
The "experienced policemen" didn't know the law? They should be fired for this! It is incompetent not to know the city ordinances!
In essence, if you really think about it, they helped that Vargas chick STEAL her dog. They either knew the law and helped her or didn't know the law and HELPED HER!
In Texas pets are considered PROPERTY. If this had been jewelry, a watch, furrniture, etc. you wouldn't be discrediting her by saying she is "not well" or "delirious".
So, this is a dog. This is the small stuff but big enough to be concerned. If they don't know the laws on the small stuff, what makes you think they know the laws on the big stuff?
Think about it very carefully! You could be next!
yeah, if they don't know this small law, what is their interpretation of a BIG law involving more valuable property, drugs, drug money, police locker room evidence, or God forbid, MURDER. If they messed up this case, imagine the murders they have compromised.
What if it is your murder? Would you be cool with your family grieving over you and that the police messed up and the murderer got away or simply got off on a technicality because the police did something wrong?
This is just a dog but it could be so much bigger than this.
Don't mock this story. This is just a taste of how incompetent and possibly corrupt the Brownsville Police Department is.
I would imagine it must be traumatizing, gut wrenching and painful to have the police come in and ILLEGALLY take something that has belonged to you for a long time. 88 days is a long time.
If no one was looking for her for 88 days but Speece and her husband were looking for the owners, that shows they made a good faith effort to find them. When they didn't find them they decided Dobie belonged to them.
If you aren't really looking(ie lost dog flyers, walking around town looking for the dog, etc.), then it isn't your dog anymore especially after 88 days.
If you are a police officer and you don't know the law, that makes you incompetent.
If you know the law and disobey it, that means you are BREAKING THE LAW.
Any way you slice it, the Brownsville Police Department are wrong and anyone defending them, clearly doesn't know the law.
If you don't know the law and you are a citizen, it is understandable.
BUT IF YOU ARE A POLICE OFFICER, it is your job to know the law BECAUSE YOU ARE ENFORCING IT!
It is your job. If you aren't doing your job right, YOU SHOULD BE FIRED!
Cervantes and Trujillo should be fired!
Someone on this thread mentioned they were "experienced policemen".
If these dudes are experienced, then that means they should KNOW the law.
If they knew the law, they would have handled this situation based on the law and these people would not have been deprived of their property.
We don't know for certain but it appears that Cervantes and Trujillo didn't.
If they didn't, and they are "Experienced Policemen", how could they make a mistake like this one?
If they are LAW ENFORCEMENT, it is their job to know the law because they are responsible for enforcing it.
If they don't know the law, that means they aren't doing their job right.
If they aren't doing their job right, that means they are BREAKING the law and allowing criminals to run around freely possibly in your neighborhood.
That means you could be relieved of your property illegally too.
Is that what you really want on the police force?
Is that really someone you want protecting your neighborhood?
Is that someone you want and think are coming to the rescue and then screw it all up and find a way to shame you for their incompetence?
This is not the way the police are supposed to PROTECT AND SERVE!
Who are they protecting and serving?
If they don't know the law, that means they are PROTECTING THE CRIMINALS!
So I guess CRIME DOES PAY IF you have the Brownsville Police Department in your pocket!
I found this on the BROWNSVILLE MUNICIPAL CODE. Chapter 10-Section 1001
I will attach the link below so you can see it for yourself!
Harboring means the act of keeping and caring for an animal or of providing a premises to which the animal returns for food, shelter or care for a period of three days.
Owner means any person who has right of property in an animal or who harbors an animal or allows an animal to remain about his premises for a period of three days.
Rabies vaccination means the vaccination of a dog or cat or other domestic animal with an antirabies vaccine approved by the state department of health and administered by a veterinarian licensed by the state.
It sounds like Yolanda did all of this.
She may not have gone to Animal Control but she did everything else!
It sounds like the police didn't care and wanted to favor Vargas!
That is a crime ON BEHALF OF THE BROWNSVILLE POLICE DEPARTMENT and Vargas!
Those cops should be fired!
The city of Brownsville owes the Speeces a formal apology. I bet they shamed them and accused them of theft when the real thief was Vargas.
Vargas needs to go to jail for her crime of stealing that dog.
My question is why isn't she in jail?
Who does she know on the police force?
This has palanca written all over it!
Neither officer followed the law! What else did they do wrong?
June 14, 2023 at 8:37 PM
I agree with your comment.
The police favors their friends.
So, we need to have a DAY in Brownsville just to "Make a POLICE friend" and we can go and choose our police officer and we get their phone and badge so that we have somebody on our side.
Juan Montoya: it is time for you to open another blog and educate the residents of Brownsville about the duties, rights of citizens.
Also include the ordinances, laws that residents should know when confrontinga police officer.
Do you speak?
Do you give them your name? license if you are not under arrest.
What are the rights of normal residents of Brownsville?
What are the rights of minors? Minors are now surrounded by police officers in schools.
What are your rights when you are inside your home?
The Police should also have this in their webpage: for residents and police officers alike.
What happens when a resident doesn't know his rights and faces a police officer that doesn't know the law?
"Make a POLICE friend"? This sounds great IN THEORY but the application may not be so great!
Police have their favorites and they will show favor to family and friends. If you don't know a cop, how can you get them on your side?
ON another note, there was mention about citizens being aware of their rights and duties. Citizens should know their rights but IT IS THE JOB OF THE POLICE TO KNOW how to treat citizens. THEY ARE GETTING PAID TO KNOW!
The thing is the police should know better and they don't. It is evident that their training is seriously lacking!
What they did to Tim and Yolanda was bad. I hear she keeps showing up that the city commission meetings and keeps giving them hell about this especially the mayor. It is clear she really hates him. I wonder why!
Well hold your horses boys! I'm no inspector Gadget but I think Speece responded to each comment!
June 15, 2023 at 10:27 PM
No, it was me. When people are grieving, they exist in another dimension.
6/13 10:47 PM SHE IS MUCH BETTER PERSON THAN YOU
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