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ON THE WEB: THEZAPATATIMES.COM
111TH DISTRICT COURT
ZAPATA COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE
Man charged in fatal hit-and-run Driver allegedly struck woman, did not render aid By César G. Rodriguez THE ZAPATA TIME S
Joana Santillana / Laredo Morning Times
Priscilla Villarreal, second from left, poses for a photo Wednesday outside the 111th District Court with her sister, mother and attorney Joey Tellez.
‘LA GORDILOCA’ WINS CASE Judge finds statute used in arrest vague By Joana Santillana TH E ZAPATA T IME S
Criminal charges against Laredo social media personality and citizen journalist Priscilla “La Gordiloca” Villarreal were dismissed Wednesday. 111th District Court Judge Monica Zapata Notzon found that Villarreal was denied due process because the Texas statute used to charge her with third-degree felony misuse of official information was too vague. She deemed the statute unconstitutional. Villarreal, who was accompanied by family and friends, told Laredo Morning Times
that she would continue her “uncensored, raw and unedited” way of delivering the news. “I’m excited that we won,” she said. “I’m glad that the judge made a ruling in my favor. I’m going to continue to serve my community as I’ve done for the past two and a half years and continue to bring news to the people of Laredo.” Laredo police said in a statement Thursday that it respects the judge’s decision as well as the decision by the District Attorney’s Office to approve the warrant for arrest, which was executed in December. “The Laredo Police Department’s responsibility to the
protection of a person’s rights with regards to privacy, as it relates to sensitive information, remains an important cause for our department,” the statement reads. Although her broadcasts on Facebook started off as a hobby, Villarreal said this is her passion and that she is “not going anywhere.” Multiple media outlets, including the Los Angeles Times, reported on Villarreal’s arrest, giving her an international platform, she said. Villarreal thanked the Laredo Police Department, saying that they did her a favor. She
A man has been arrested in connection with a fatal hit-andrun incident that occurred last weekend in Zapata County, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety. Fidel Alejandro Ubaldo, 25, was charged with accident involving death for failure to stop and render aid, a seconddegree felony punishable by up to 20 years in prison and a $10,000 fine. Zapata County Jail records show Ubaldo remained behind bars on a $1 million bond as of Tuesday. DPS Sgt. Conrad J. Hein said
Ubaldo
Valverde
the auto-pedestrian incident occurred at about 9 p.m. by Diaz Avenue and 10th Street in the Medina Addition. A Chevy Malibu driven by Ubaldo allegedly struck and killed Blanca Estela Valverde, 41. The Zapata County Sheriff’s Accident continues on A8
NUEVO LAREDO, TAMAULIPAS
Charges continues on A8
AUSTIN, TEXAS
Courtesy photo
Mexican police have arrested six suspects in connection with the stabbing of journalist Carlos Rodriguez Dominguez.
Police chief calls serial bomber 'domestic terrorist' Mexico arrests 6 suspects in killing of journalist A S S OCIAT E D PRE SS
AUSTIN, Texas — Austin's police chief said Thursday that a "domestic terrorist" set off a series of explosions that killed two people and severely wounded four others in Texas' capital, offering a stronger characterization of the suspected bomber after drawing criticism for being unwilling to do so previously. Brian Manley in recent weeks had hesitated to label the bombings terrorism, citing an investigation that still isn't complete. But at a meeting Thursday on police and community response to the bombings, Manley answered audience questions with other panelists and said, "I actually agree now that he was a domestic terrorist for what he did to us.'" The admission didn't go far enough for some present, who continued to ask questions about racism in Austin. Investigators say that Mark Conditt used one his own devices to blow himself up as authorities approached his SUV before dawn on March 21. Authorities say he terrorized the city for weeks, planting three bombs on doorsteps that killed a
ASSOCIAT ED PRE SS
Eric Gay / Associated Press
Austin Police Chief Brian Manley briefs says a "domestic terrorist" set off a series of explosions that killed two people and severely wounded four others in the Texas capital.
man and a teenager and seriously injuring two others. Later, an explosive with a tripwire injured two more men and a package bomb exploded at a FedEx processing center south of Austin. Authorities eventually used surveillance video of Conditt dropping packages off at FedEx to help track him down. Police originally called the first explosion, which occurred
March 2, an isolated incident. When bombs kept exploding, Manley speculated that they could be motivated by racial hatred because the bomber's first four victims were all black or Hispanic. But Manley began to downplay that theory after the tripwire injured two white victims. Also, authorities eventually learned that one of ConBomber continues on A8
MEXICO CITY — Six suspects have been arrested in the January killing of a journalist in the border city of Nuevo Laredo, Mexican prosecutors said Wednesday. Meanwhile, two former police officers were sentenced in the 2015 killing of another reporter in the Gulf coast state of Veracruz. The Jan. 13 stabbing of Carlos Dominguez Rodriguez may have been related to his journalistic work but was not related to organized crime, prosecutors in the northern state of Tamaulipas said. "The results up to this time indicate a probable link between these events and the exercise of freedom of expression," the federal Attorney General's Office added in a statement. Across from Laredo, Texas, Nuevo Laredo is dominated by the Northeast cartel and has been the scene of recent shoot-
outs. State prosecutor Irving Barrios said that the motive for Dominguez Rodriguez's killing was still under investigation, but that the journalist didn't write about organized crime topics. Barrios said three of the six suspects "worked in the information industry, but we are still checking whether they were working journalists." Officials refused to release the names of the suspects, citing Mexican law that prohibits publicly incriminating people until they are found guilty. Prosecutors did not explain why the suspects, who local media reported worked as independent journalists, would have wanted to kill Dominguez Rodriguez, or why the killing was so brutal. The victim was stabbed two dozen times in front of relatives. Prosecutors in Veracruz announced later in the day that two former police officers were Arrests continues on A8