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ZAPATA
ZAPATA COUNTY COURTHOUSE
Tip leads to theft arrest
Drug Take Back Day
Sheriff’s Office busts man for attempting to steal rims By CÉSAR G. RODRIGUEZ THE ZAPATA TIMES
A man was recently arrested for attempting to steal a couple of rims from a home, the Zapata County Sheriff ’s Office said Monday. On March 9, authorities received anonymous information indicating that a man riding a bike, wearing maroon shirt and a cap was trying to enter a residence in the ALANIZ 200 block of Fourth Street. The man allegedly reached over the fence of the property to take two rims but dropped them when he was spotted, got on his bicycle and rode off into a
See THEFT PAGE 11A
DEA encourages locals to turn in old medicine By CÉSAR G. RODRIGUEZ THE ZAPATA TIMES
The Drug Enforcement Administration National Prescription Drug TakeBack Day is set for April 30. Authorities and the Zapata County Community Coalition of Serving Children and Adults in Need encourage people to turn in unused or expired medication for safe disposal from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Zapata County
Courthouse, 200 E. Seventh Street. The DEA said the TakeBack Day provides a safe, convenient, and responsible way of disposing of prescription drugs. Additionally, authorities and local groups also look forward to educating the community about the potential for abuse of medications, according to the DEA web-
SHERIFF’S OFFICE
See DEA PAGE 11A
Photo by Victor Strife | Laredo Morning Times file
A DEA agent collects a bag of unused prescription medicine from a vehicle during the nationwide drug "take-back" day Oct. 26, 2013.
ZAPATA LIONS CLUB
Man faces VISION SCREENING FOR CHILDREN injury to a child charge By CÉSAR G. RODRIGUEZ LAREDO MORNING TIMES
A man was recently arrested for assaulting his son, the Zapata County Sheriff ’s Office said Monday. The suspect, Eduardo Abel Leal, 26, was charged with injury to a child, a third-degree felony that carries a punishment of up to 10 years in prison. In addition, an emergency protective order was issued for the mother and children, according to the Sheriff ’s Office. LEAL Leal posted bond March 22. Authorities said the case was reported at 7:13 p.m. March 15. That evening, deputies responded to an assault in the 1800 block of Kennedy Street. The caller stated to deputies that her husband, Leal, had assaulted their eldest son, reports state.
See CHILD PAGE 11A
Courtesy photo
The Zapata Lions Club proudly welcomes the Rio Grande City Lions Club in helping promote the Pediavision screening program at Zapata’s two Head Start centers. Pictured from left to right are Zapata Lions Club members Sergio Ramirez, Jose Luis Morales, Humberto Gonzalez Jr., Aurelio Villarreal; Rio Grande City Pediavision Team members Ruben Saenz, Alberto Barrera, Rafaela Garza Rosa, Enrique Gonzalez and children at Lago Head Start Center. Pediavision is a program that helps screen eye abnormalities in children at an early age and encourages them to get help.
GULF CARTEL
Top cartel leaders find haven in Dallas By DAVID WARREN ASSOCIATED PRESS
Photo by Tom Fox/The Dallas Morning News | AP
A March 23 photo shows the home of Southlake attorney Juan Jesus Guerrero Chapa, who was killed by a masked gunman in May 2013 in the parking area in Southlake, Texas.
DALLAS — A man who was slain at an upscale suburban Dallas shopping center is identified in federal court documents as the acting leader of a notorious Mexican cartel, a claim that would run counter to the long-held belief that drug kingpins seldom try to hide in the United States. Juan Jesus Guerrero Chapa moved into a milliondollar home in Southlake in 2011, two years before he was fatally shot by three men who prosecutors say
had been stalking him for months. According to a recent court filing submitted by the lawyers for Jesus Gerardo Ledezma-Cepeda — one of three suspects slated to stand trial for Chapa’s killing — Chapa became the interim head of the Gulf Cartel — one of Mexico’s most violent drug-trafficking rings — following the arrest of predecessor Osiel Cardenas-Guillen, who was extradited to the U.S. in 2007 and later sentenced to 25 years in prison. As head of the Gulf Cartel, “Chapa ran a large
criminal enterprise whose activities included murders, narcotics trafficking, kidnapping, extortion, bribery, money laundering and torture,” the court filing says. It appears Chapa in part was seeking anonymity with his family in moving to the Dallas metro region. Court records said he had been living in fear because “he had been found by people who wanted to kill him.” Federal officials say it’s unusual to find high-rank-
See CARTEL PAGE 11A