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FISHING
MURDER
Falcon concerns Photo by César G. Rodriguez | The Zapata Times
Police investigate the scene of the Laredo’s seventh homicide at the 1700 block of Cedar Avenue on Thursday afternoon.
Police: Robbery led to death 24-year-old man allegedly died after confrontation with homeowners By CÉSAR G. RODRIGUEZ THE ZAPATA TIMES File photo by Times staff
Fishermen return from a cold Falcon Lake for official weigh-ins during the Fishing League Worldwide Outdoors tournament in 2010.
Committee eyes declining bass population By GABRIELA A. TREVIÑO THE ZAPATA TIMES
M
embers of the Texas House of Representatives’ Committee of Culture, Recreation and Tourism met with a full house of concerned Zapata residents during a public hearing to address Falcon Lake’s declining bass population. Experts from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department were brought in by the committee as invited testimonies during the hearing, held Friday afternoon at the Zapata Technical and Advanced Education Center. “Fishing is big business in Texas, and we all know that,” said Dr. Gary Saul, division director of the Inland Fisheries Division at Texas Parks and Wildlife. The declining bass population has greatly impacted not only the Falcon Lake ecosystem, but has also contributed to the declining number of tourists that visit the area. In 2012, Falcon Lake was ranked No. 1 bass lake in the country by Bass-
Photo by Gabriela A. Treviño | The Zapata Times
A panel listens to expert and public testimony during the hearing on declining bass populations Friday afternoon. master Magazine. In 2013, it ranked No. 7, and this year, it dropped again to No. 12. Businesses that once sustained themselves on the amount of traffic they received from avid fishermen started to feel the economic repercussions of this environmental is-
sue, residents said during public testimony. The panel from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department attributed the problem to an increase of alligator gar in the lake.
See LAKE PAGE 8A
COURTS
LAREDO — Police have identified the man who was fatally shot in a gunfire exchange reported Thursday afternoon at a home in the 1700 block of Cedar Avenue in El Trompe neighborhood. He was identified as Raul Medina, 24. Authorities identified a second person shot in the arm as Raul Hernandez, 37. Police withheld the name of a third person alleged to be the one who shot Medina because he’s not facing any charges. He’s is a 34-year-old relative of Hernandez, said Investigator Joe E. Baeza, Laredo Police Department spokesman. Early stages of the investigation revealed that Medina allegedly intended to rob the home, according to Baeza. Police could not say what Medina wanted to take from the home because of the ongoing investigation. “At this preliminary phase of the investigation
… it’s alleged that the deceased went to the house to commit a robbery,” he said. Right before 5 p.m., police responded to the shooting at Cedar. The caller stated that there were several gunshots heard in the area. Upon arrival, officers found a lifeless Medina lying facedown next to the house by the concrete driveway — and Hernandez injured. Medina allegedly had a .45 caliber semiautomatic handgun in his right hand. It was not clear how many shots were fired, but Medina was mortally wounded once. It appeared that he had an entry wound on the chest and exit wound through the back, according to police. Police later learned that Hernandez and his relative were inside the house when they heard someone at the door. When they opened it, a confrontation occurred between Medina and the two men, leading to the shots fired, according to
See DEATH PAGE 8A
MEXICO VIOLENCE
Man indicted for Suspect tied to Zetas immigrant transport charged in smuggling By CÉSAR G. RODRIGUEZ THE ZAPATA TIMES
A man who expected a $300 payment for transporting eight illegal immigrants in Zapata County was indicted Tuesday in federal court in Laredo. A grand jury formally charged Pedro Hernandez-Verastegui with conspiracy to transport undocumented people within the United States, and transport and attempt to transport undocumented people for financial gain. If convicted, Hernandez-Verastegui faces up to 10 years in prison followed by supervised release, the indictment filed Tuesday states. Arraignment is set for May 22. His arrest dates back to April 15. At 10:15 p.m., the Zapata County Sher-
iff ’s Office contacted the Zapata Border Patrol Station regarding a possible human smuggling attempt. Court records alleged the group of people was “undocumented due to the fact that the subjects did not possess any identifying documents and did not speak English.” Border Patrol agents arrived to find a sheriff ’s deputy with a Chevrolet Venture bearing Mexican license plates. The agent observed “several subjects lying on top of each other in the cargo area,” according to court documents. Agents determined that the eight passengers were in the country illegally. Reports indicate that a deputy saw the Chevrolet Venture driving erratically near Miraflores Street in Zapata. As the
deputy approached the vehicle, it sped off, heading east on Texas 16. The deputy caught up with the vehicle after a short pursuit, court records alleged. A sheriff ’s official turned over the driver, Hernandez-Verastegui, to federal authorities. In a post-arrest interview, Hernandez-Verastegui said he had entered the county illegally on April 13. He stayed at the Roma Inn, in Roma, and made arrangements with a man named “Juan” in Miguel Aleman, Tamaulipas, Mexico, to transport illegal immigrants in Zapata. As per the arrangements, he was to be paid $300 for the smuggling attempt. (César G. Rodriguez may be reached at 7282568 or cesar@lmtonline.com)
By JASON BUCH SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS
Mexican authorities have arrested a man suspected of being a member of the Zetas who’s accused of running a human smuggling ring that brought hundreds of immigrants to San Antonio. The smuggling operation run by 42-year-old Fernando Martinez-Magana was notorious for putting the lives of immigrants and others at risk, court documents state. His arrest was one of the priorities of a new strategy to return law and order to the state of Tamaulipas, which borders Texas from Laredo to Brownsville, the Mexican government announced this week. He was arrested Wednesday in the northern industrial center of
Monterrey, federal Police Chief Monte Alejandro Rubido said. In a news conference posted online, Rubido said Martinez-Magana oversaw drug trafficking, arms shipments and human smuggling in the region around Nuevo Laredo. In San Antonio, Martinez-Magana, who goes by the nicknames “Z-16” and “Don Fernando” is charged with multiple counts of immigrant smuggling and assisting in immigrant smuggling. He faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted in the U.S. Officials for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, whose investigation of an immigration smuggling crew in 2011 and 2012 resulted in 20 people being charged in San Antonio, wouldn’t comment Friday.
Agents using wiretaps and informants busted stash houses and vehicles packed with immigrants, including at a Days Inn on Rigsby Avenue in April 2012 and a June 2012 traffic stop on Interstate 35 near Pat Booker Road. The Zetas have expanded beyond drug trafficking into other lucrative crimes, including human smuggling, said Javier Peña, the former special agent in charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration in Houston. They’ve taken over smuggling routes and formed a monopoly, driving up the cost of entering the U.S. illegally, Peña said. “It’s more expensive than it was before,” he said. “I’ve even heard some lower-level traffick-
See ZETAS PAGE 8A