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MCALLEN
FEDERAL COURT
Officer accused of stealing drugs
Smugglers sentenced
Policeman took coke from home
Three Zapatans get prison time for human smuggling By PHILIP BALLI THE ZAPATA TIMES
Three Zapata residents arrested in November during a thwarted human smuggling attempt on U.S. 83 were sentenced Tuesday in federal court in Laredo. A grand jury formally indicted Misti Lea Grand-
staff, Mario Humberto Garza III and Manuel Alejandro Garza on charges of conspiracy and two counts of transporting and attempting to transport illegal immigrants for financial gain. The human smuggling charges are punishable by up to 10 years in prison. Grandstaff and Mario
plea agreements, prosecutors agreed to dismiss the remaining charges of the indictment. During the sentencing hearing before U.S. District Judge Diana Saldaña, Grandstaff was handed a prison sentence of eight months and 16 days. Saldaña further ordered that she be placed
on a three-year term of supervised release with a special condition that she be placed in home confinement for six months with electronic monitoring. Grandstaff must also complete 50 hours of community service within the first two years of her su-
See SMUGGLING PAGE 13A
WASHINGTON POST/ABC NEWS
ASSOCIATED PRESS
McALLEN — A criminal complaint unsealed this week accuses a South Texas police officer of stealing cocaine from a home in 2012 and then trying to cover up the theft by claiming he found the drugs in a car that he seized. Hector “Jo Jo” Mendez faces a charge of possession with intent to distribute more than 5 kilograms of cocaine, The Monitor newspaper in McAllen reported. Mendez is a 17year veteran of the Mission Police Department who was assigned to a drug enforcement task force. Mendez’s defense attorney, Carlos Garcia, told The Associated Press on Tuesday that he has reviewed the criminal complaint and that his client denies the allegations. Mendez is accused of stealing the drugs in July 2012 — several months after he lost a primary for Hidalgo County Precinct 2 constable. He was questioned several times, including earlier this month, after investigators said he made several inconsistent statements. The complaint unsealed Monday states that Mendez has denied knowing of any drug theft. Two former Mission police officers, Alexis Espinoza and Jonathan Trevino, were sentenced last year to lengthy terms for their roles in a drug-trafficking conspiracy that involved other law enforcement officers in the region. Mendez could receive up to life in prison and a $10 million fine if convicted on the possession with intent to distribute charge.
Humberto Garza accepted plea agreements and pleaded guilty Jan. 12 to one count of transporting illegal immigrants for financial gain. Manuel Alejandro Garza accepted a plea agreement and pleaded guilty April 23 to the conspiracy charge. As part of each of their
CRUZ, PERRY TIED IN POLL
Image by Cooper Neill | Texas Tribune
Former Gov. Rick Perry and U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz are shown in this compilation image.
Two Texans each have support of 4 percent of voters By ABBY LIVINGSTON TEXAS TRIBUNE
WASHINGTON — The two Texans running for president are tied in a new national poll.
U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz and former Texas Gov. Rick Perry each had the support of 4 percent of registered voters who identified themselves as Republicans in a new Washington Post/
ABC News poll. At first blush, 4 percent appears to be an insignificant number. But both men will make the cut if Fox News takes this poll into account when decid-
ing which 10 Republican presidential candidates appear in the upcoming Aug. 6 presidential debate. Cruz had a slight leg up over Perry in the survey when all self-identified Re-
publican respondents were polled — not just registered voters. In that group, Cruz got 4 percent while Perry got 3 percent.
See POLL PAGE 13A
TEXAS LAWMAKERS
El Chapo’s escape should lead to drug law reform By JULIÁN AGUILAR TEXAS TRIBUNE
Photo by Eduardo Verdugo | AP
This photo shows the opening of a tunnel, authorities claim was used by drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, to escape from his prison cell at the Altiplano maximum security prison, in Almoloya, west of Mexico City, July 15.
Corruption. Extradition. Border violence. Those were the standard talking-point topics by Texas lawmakers following Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán’s brazen escape last week from a maximum-security Mexican prison. Now, some advocates hope to add “drug policy reform” to the list, arguing that Guzmán’s catapult back to power of the Sinaloa cartel should lead to new discussions on how much out-
lawing drugs empowers the world’s most ruthless drug lords. Organizations like Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, or LEAP, a worldwide group whose members include current and former peace officers, prosecutors and correctional officers, wasted little time in sounding the alarms about a possible increase in violence after Guzmán’s escape. Rusty White, a former correctional officer, K-9 handler and watchtower sniper who is one of LEAP’s 17 Texas-based mem-
bers, said Guzmán’s escape could escalate a war with rival cartels that sought to gain traction in disputed turf after Guzmán’s arrest in February 2014. “Chapo’s been controlling the borders of the United States forever. Now that he’s back out, with whoever he put in place, there’s [likely] going to be more violence when the power struggle starts again,” he said. He added of law enforcement officials: “Someday, these people are going to have to look in the
See EL CHAPO PAGE 13A