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BORDER PATROL
ZAPATA COUNTY
Woman charged for smuggling
FBI arrests men Two accused of transporting $400k in pot By CÉSAR G. RODRIGUEZ THE ZAPATA TIMES
Suspect led agents on a chase along Texas 16 in Zapata County By CÉSAR G. RODRIGUEZ THE ZAPATA TIMES
A woman accused of smuggling immigrants into the country led authorities on a chase along Texas 16 in Zapata County, according to court documents obtained this week.
Alicia Alaniz Vela, of San Diego, Texas, was charged with transporting illegal immigrants with a vehicle within the Southern District of Texas, according to a criminal complaint filed Feb. 6. Records show Alaniz
See SMUGGLING PAGE 11A
Federal authorities arrested two men in Zapata County accused of transporting more than $400,000 worth of marijuana, according to court documents released this week show. Heraldo Chapa and Rene Romeo Guerra were charged Feb. 5 with posses with intent to manufacture, distribute or dispense a controlled substance, according to a criminal complaint filed against them Tuesday.
At 5:02 p.m. Feb. 5, a U.S. Border Patrol camera installed along a known smuggling route spotted a Chevrolet pickup traveling toward Falcon Lake in Zapata. Border Patrol kept a watchful eye on the vehicle, which then headed toward U.S. 83. Agents said the pickup then pulled into a warehouse located at the entrance of the Remigio Guerra Ranch, off U.S. 83. Four people came out of the warehouse to board a gray Dodge Ram 1500 parked out-
side. A marked Border Patrol unit trailed the Dodge while another agent continued observing the warehouse. When agents intercepted the Dodge, two men dressed in hunters’ camouflage clothing jumped out of the passenger cabin to run into the brush. Authorities said the driver and passenger stayed in the vehicle. Guerra was identified as the driver while Chapa was the passenger. Asked why the other two people ran away, Guerra
stated he believed because they were in the country illegally. Chapa and Guerra were initially detained under the suspicion of transporting illegal immigrants, documents state. Border Patrol, FBI task force members and a K-9 unit inspected the warehouse where the Ram had departed from. Records show the narcotics detection dog immediately alerted agents to possible contraband within the Chevrolet.
See FBI PAGE 11A
TEXAS CAPITOL
LAGUNA MADRE
CLASS OUT AT SEA Photo by Eric Gay | AP
Jackson County Sheriff A.J. "Andy" Louderback, left, confers with Chambers County Sheriff Brian Hawtohorne, center.
Open carry bills pass senate panel Photo by David Pike/Valley Morning Star | AP
In this photo taken February 9, Captain Whitney let the Lyford Middle School students know they could touch, hold, and even kiss the fish they found. Some students took it literally.
Students learn the ways of the water By FERNANDO DEL VALLE VALLEY MORNING NEWS
P
Photo by David Pike/Valley Morning Star | AP
In this photo taken February 9, Captain Whitney explains to the Lyford Middle School students how a water bladder helps the shrimp survive out of water longer than the other sea life they caught Monday.
ORT MANSFIELD — For Sara Cardoza, the school field trip on the research boat Archimedes marked the first time she climbed on a boat — and the first time she saw dolphins in the wild. “It’s beautiful,” the sixth-grader told the Valley Morning Star of Harlingen as she scanned the Laguna Madre. “I’m excited. I got to learn something new about the ecosystem.” Sixth-graders from
Lyford Middle School boarded the 38-foot boat as part of a program that will teach Willacy County students about life under the Laguna Madre through Feb. 27. “The main things we try to stress are the differences between the food chains on land and the food chains in the water,” said Whitney Curry, the boat’s captain. For five years, Curry and her husband Bryan piloted a research boat as part of a Texas A&M University program that helped thousands of students learn about coast-
See WATER PAGE 11A
Bills lift ban on concealed guns on campus; vote will move to full Senate By MORGAN SMITH TEXAS TRIBUNE
A crowd of Second Amendment rights activists, survivors of gun violence, students, concerned parents, and law enforcement officers showed up at the Texas Capitol on Thursday to give lawmakers their views on two high-profile gun bills. After a hearing that lasted almost eight hours, the Senate State Affairs Committee passed bills that would lift a ban on concealed handguns at university campuses (Senate Bill 11) and allow license holders to carry holstered handguns openly (Senate Bill 17). Both measures passed 7-2, with the committee’s two Democrats voting against, and now proceed to the full Senate. Colin Goddard, who was shot four times dur-
ing the 2007 Virginia Tech shooting in which 32 students and faculty members died, was among those who spoke. He asked lawmakers not to use the Virginia Tech tragedy to justify campus carry bills. “We survivors do not think that it is a good idea to have guns on campus,” he said. “There is no evidence that a bill like SB 11 would do anything to stop a mass shooting, but SB 11 would make the average day on campus more dangerous in an environment where students are dealing with failing grades, alcohol abuse, relationship problems.” Several police chiefs also testified against the measures, saying they would strain law enforcement and make it difficult to identify perpetrators at the scene of a crime.
See BILLS PAGE 11A