2ND QUARTER STRUGGLE
WEDNESDAY JANUARY 29, 2014
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WEATHER
COURTS
Cold air returns
Guilty pleas in Zeta case Jacaman Sr., Jr. admit guilt in gun-smuggling operation By MATTHEW NELSON THE ZAPATA TIMES
Austin-area officials meeting about 3 a.m. were told icy conditions would not be bad, emergency management spokesman Jacob Dirr said. However, that changed after daybreak when it became obvious conditions had deteriorated. By then, some children in districts outside Austin already were on school buses while some teachers and principals were reporting they couldn’t get out of their homes because of ice, prompting officials to reverse earlier decisions and close or delay openings at the last minute. “I feel terrible about the way it played out,” Leander Superintendent Bret Champion told the Austin American-Statesman. “That put parents in bad spots after sending their kids on the bus. It made it look like we weren’t paying attention, when we were hyperpaying attention. “I would never have put kids on the road if I had known.” In Houston, freezing rain caused minimal difficulties and traffic was light. Most schools and city and county offices throughout the area were closed. The Texas Department of Transportation sent sanding trucks to overpasses
The illegal smuggling operation run out of Jacaman Guns and Ammo that sent firearm ammunition and magazines to the Zetas drug cartel turned out to be a family affair after the owner and his son pleaded guilty Tuesday to their involvement. Robert Jacaman Sr., the gun store’s owner, stood arm-in-arm with his wife Veronica Jacaman as he pleaded guilty in federal court in Laredo to conspiring to smuggle firearm ammunition and magazines to Mexico. He faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. ROBERT SR. Veronica Jacaman faces up to one year in prison after she pleaded guilty in August to failing to make entries in firearms records required to be kept by law. She faces up to one year in prison. Robert Jacaman Jr., son of Robert and Veronica Jacaman, pleaded guilty to misprision of a felony for failing to report a feloVERONICA ny. The felony in question was the receipt and possession of a .223 caliber short-barrel rifle, which took place at Jacaman Guns and Ammo. The rifle’s barrel was less than 16 inches, and federal law prohibits a barrel shorter than 18 inches. For this, he faces up to three years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Robert Jacaman’s plea agreement states that he conspired with others to export ammunition and magazines designed to fit AR-15 and AK-47-type firearms. He also admitted to working with Oswaldo “Baldo” Borrego-Ramos during the conspiracy. “Borrego-Ramos negotiated the purchase and delivery of the ammunition and firearm magazines with Jacaman,” the U.S. attorney’s office said. “Borrego-Ramos would then send couriers to deliver cash to Jacaman and others to pick up the items to smuggle them into Mexico. “In one instance, Jacaman even advised Borrego-Ramos of an outstanding balance which he had not paid for prior sales.”
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Photo by Jason Foctman/Conroe Courier | AP
Montie Alders walks down Metcalf Street near downtown Conroe, Texas, on Tuesday. The Zapata area, meanwhile, remains in a wind chill advisory until 11 a.m. today.
Wind chill advisory for Zapata in effect to 11 a.m. By MICHAEL GRACZYK
ber to the TV stations, and we’ll send a statement to them.”
ASSOCIATED PRESS
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OUSTON — Ice-glazed roads caused dozens of wrecks Tuesday as a line of moisture combined with frigid temperatures put normally balmy Central and Southeast Texas in the deep freeze for the second time in less than a week. Zapata, meanwhile, remains in a wind chill advisory until 11 a.m. today. A winter weather advisory ended at 6 a.m. The Zapata area was one of few that could see wintery precipitation, according to the National Weather Service in Brownsville. “Strong cold Arctic air bringing below freezing temperatures (Tuesday) in combination with a disturbance over Mexico will develop the potential for a mix of sleet and snow across deep South Texas,” the alert stated. “Light snow accumulation will be between half inch with some isolated locations close to one inch.” Zapata County schools will remain open, according to a spokesman Tuesday afternoon. “Right now we’re keeping our regular schedule,” said Rogelio Gonzalez, IT and school safety coordinator. “If anything happens, I have the phone num-
Across the state The most severe traffic problems appeared to be in the Austin area, where elevated decks of Interstate 35 and some flyover ramps were closed. Police reported more than 150 traffic wrecks throughout the area. The University of Texas and other school districts delayed opening or shut down for the entire day. The freezing rain extended from west and north of San Antonio to Temple, across Bryan-College Station and Huntsville and east to Louisiana. A trace of snow was reported in Waco. Jane Young, an 80-year-old pastor’s wife, was driving in an unfamiliar corner of Austin before dawn when sleet began falling. “As I drove, I prayed the whole way,” she said. “I said, ‘Lord, put your hands on mine and guide me. This is your car now.’” She made it to her destination, a polling station where she was volunteering during a special election to fill a vacant Texas House seat. “It was just so scary,” she said.
CRIME
Police arrest beauty queen Former Nuestra Belleza charged with interfering with officer’s duties By CÉSAR G. RODRIGUEZ THE ZAPATA TIMES
The Nuestra Belleza 2013 Tamaulipas beauty queen and former Nuestra Belleza Latina contestant was arrested early Sunday outside a local bar in North Laredo. Police charged Barbara Falcon-Prieto, 24, who has also competed in local beauty pageants, with interfering with a police officer’s duties, a misdemeanor. She is out on bail. Security officers from Agave Azul, 120 West Village Blvd., told police that a man was trying to exit the bar with an alcoholic drink in his hand. The security officer told the man that he could not exit the premises with the beverage, said Investigator Joe E. Baeza, Laredo Police Department spokesman.
The man then became “rowdy and belligerent” toward the security officer, police said. Police responded to the busiFALCON-PRIETO ness at 2:30 a.m. for reports of two “rowdy” men and two “rowdy” women. While an officer was trying to talk to an individual on the curb of the parking lot to investigate the incident, Falcon-Prieto began interrupting and impeding the officer’s investigation, Baeza said. “The female started to pull the officer’s right arm and hands
from the (man detained by police), impeding and interfering while (the officer) was trying to hold the rowdy subject during the investigation,” he said. Falcon-Prieto was allegedly pushing the officer away from the man and told the officer in Spanish, “Let him go” and “Leave him alone.” The officer ordered Falcon-Prieto to stay back several times but she was “aggressive and was not complying with the officer’s commands,” Baeza said. During the incident, a woman identified as Gabriela Molina, 22, was also placed under arrest and charged with interfering with public duties. The “rowdy” men were not taken into custody, according to police. (César G. Rodriguez may be reached at 728-2568 or cesar@lmtonline.com)
Courtesy photo
Barbara Falcon-Prieto is shown during her reign as Nuestra Belleza 2013 Tamaulipas, the Mexican state across the border from Laredo.