FOR A SPECIAL CAUSE
SATURDAY MAY 5, 2012
FREE
ZAPTA ATHLETES PILE ON THE MEDALS, 1B
DELIVERED EVERY SATURDAY
TO 4,000 HOMES
A HEARST PUBLICATION
ON THE WEB: THEZAPATATIMES.COM
49TH DISTRICT COURT
MEXICO VIOLENCE
No ruling yet in motion to suppress video
23 found dead
GABRIEL ALVAREZBRIONES: Accused of killing 6-monthold child in 2010.
By STEPHANIE IBARRA THE ZAPATA TIMES
The defendant in a capital murder case took the stand Thursday in Zapata during a hearing to suppress a taped confession. Gabriel Alvarez-Briones, 36, is accused of killing 6month-old Carlos Eduardo Gonzalez in March 2010. The video the defense sought to suppress contains one hour of the defendant denying his involvement in the crime. What follows is a two-hour gap and then about 20 minutes of Alvarez-Briones detailing how he struck the child repeatedly. The defense attorneys, Eduardo Peña and Oscar Peña Sr., argued that the tape was inadmissible in trial because their client was not read his Miranda rights properly. The law enforcement officer administering the warning spoke in first person, and the time lapse between the two video inter-
views raises questions of direct or implied threats or promises for protection, Eduardo Peña said. “I took it as a threat that they told me they’d give me the death penalty,” AlvarezBriones said. The threat to prosecute him for a crime he hadn’t confessed to or been found guilty of, and threats to take away his children, together with a fear of being “tortured,” prompted Alvarez-Briones to confess to the crime, he said. Interrogators gave him a doll and instructed him on how and where to hit the doll for the camera, and he did, he said. During cross-examination, the state prosecutor, Pedro Garza Jr., redirected the testimony to the legal grounds on which the de-
Police: 9 hanging from bridge; 14 decapitated By ADRIANA GOMEZ LICON AND OLGA R. RODRIGUEZ ASSOCIATED PRESS
MEXICO CITY — Police found the bodies of 23 people, some hanging from a bridge and others decapitated, in an explosion of violence Friday in Nuevo Laredo, site of a brutal drug cartel turf war. Authorities found nine
of the victims, including four women, hanging from an overpass leading to a main highway, said a Tamaulipas state official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to provide the information on the case. Hours later, police found 14 human heads inside coolers outside city
hall along with a threatening note. The 14 bodies were found in black plastic bags inside a car abandoned near an international bridge, the official said. The official didn’t release the contents of the note, or give a motive for the killings. But the city across the border from Laredo, Texas, has recently
been torn by a renewed turf war between the Zetas cartel, a gang of former Mexican specialforces soldiers, and the powerful Sinaloa, which has joined forces with the Gulf cartel, former allies of the Zetas. Local media published photos of the nine blood-
See MEXICO PAGE 10A
FALCON LAKE
LAKE LEVELS DROP
See TRIAL PAGE 10A
POLITICS
Candidates expected to speak at forum By JJ VELASQUEZ THE ZAPATA TIMES
With early voting slated to begin May 14, candidates in the Zapata County primary will have a chance Tuesday to make their cases for election. The Zapata County Community Center will host a political forum Tuesday at 7 p.m. The Zapata County News, which is a co-sponsor of the event, invited each candidate to participate, including State Rep. Tracy O. King and his Democratic Party challenger, Webb County Commissioner Jerry Garza. Karran Westerman, the newspaper’s publisher, said the newspaper began holding the forums every election cycle in 2004. It is not structured specifically as a debate, but she said attendees can anonymously submit questions for certain candidates and their opponents would be
able to rebut any response. Before the question-andanswer segment, candidates are given five minutes to present their backgrounds and platforms. “I think it’s an opportunity for the public to hear what candidates have to say,” said County Judge Joe Rathmell, who is not up for election this cycle. Three candidates — Alonso Lopez, Raymond Moya III and Joaquin Solis Jr. — are vying to replace Sheriff Sigifredo Gonzalez, who is retiring after 18 years in office. Constables and county commissioners for precincts 1 and 3 make up the other contested local races on the ballot. The event is also sponsored by Amistad Home Health. The Zapata County News will provide refreshments Tuesday. (JJ Velasquez may be reached at 728-2567 or jjvelasquez@lmtonline.com)
Photo / San Antonio Express-News
Manuel and Felix Garza of Roma unload their wave-runner at Falcon Lake on Jan. 10. Rio Grande Watermaster Erasmo Yarrito said the U.S. side owns enough water for municipal and agricultural use to supply itself for two years without rainfall
Officials: Low water could hurt bass fishing By JJ VELASQUEZ THE ZAPATA TIMES
Water levels at Falcon Lake are declining, officials said, because of high usage in Mexico. But, accounting for the reservoir’s resources still at the county’s disposal, the U.S. side owns enough water for municipal and agricultural use to supply itself for two years without rainfall, said Erasmo Yarrito, Rio Grande watermaster.
“As far as water supplies, we definitely have enough to last us this year and next year as well if we were to receive no rain and no inflows from Mexico,” Yarrito said. Yarrito said it is within the country’s right to draw as much water as it has. He said Mexico is slated to release water out of Amistad Reservoir which would flow into Falcon Lake and may increase water levels here. More water is stored in Amistad, he
said, because it less prone to evaporation. County Judge Joe Rathmell said lake levels have “dropped substantially in the last month or so.” Rathmell said the county is primarily concerned about its drinking water supply, but dwindling water levels also make the lake difficult to access for anglers. “If it remains low for many months, certainly it’ll have an impact on the fishery,” he said.
Falcon Lake last month was named the top bass fishing lake in the country by the national magazine Bassmasters. During peak months, especially, the lake hosts major fishing tournaments that draw avid fishermen from all over the country. As the county weans itself off oil and gas production, which previously anchored the local economy, it has become more reliant
See LAKE PAGE 10A