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MEXICO VIOLENCE
ZAPATA COUNTY INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT
2 shots to head killed Lazcano
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MEXICO CITY — An autopsy carried out on the body of drug cartel leader Heriberto Lazcano before his body was stolen shows he died of six gunshot wounds, including two to the head, according to a forensic report released Thursday. The Coahuila state prosecutors’ office said the autopsy determined Lazcano died of brain injuries, hemorLAZCANO rhaging, shock and blood loss. Lazcano, known as “El Lazca,” was a founder and one of two top leaders of the brutal Zetas drug cartel and was one of Mexico’s most-wanted drug lords. The head wounds stood out, given navy reports indicating Lazcano was shot at a distance of as much as 300 yards by marines during a confrontation in northern Coahuila state Sunday. The autopsy report said Lazcano was shot once in the side or top of the skull and once in the back of the head. The four other wounds were in the buttocks, chest and arm. Masked men stole his body from a funeral home early Monday. State forensic experts performed the autopsy at the funeral home Sunday evening, before the body was stolen.
Teachers, librarians get ‘retention incentive’ payment By RICARDO R. VILLARREAL THE ZAPATA TIMES
Classrooms teachers and librarians in the Zapata County Independent School District will receive salary increases plus a one-time $1,000 “retention incentive” payment, the district’s board of trustees decided Tues-
day. All other full-time district employees also will receive the onetime payment. The salary increases are in line with the district’s step program. Board members extended Superintendent Norma Garcia’s contract after an evaluation in
executive session. They also approved a salary increase and the one-time payment for her. Neither board members nor administrators stated what Garcia’s salary increase would be during the meeting. Among other actions taken during the meeting: Approval of the purchase of
two vehicles for the child nutrition program and two buses for the transportation department. Class size waivers from 22:1 for two schools, Benavides Elementary (third grade) and Zapata South Elementary (kindergarten).
See BOARD PAGE 9A
DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY CRIME LAB
FIGHTERS AGAINST CRIME
Theft reveals his importance Mexico’s navy said its personnel had no idea they had killed the leader of the country’s most-feared drug cartel until after his body was stolen. By law, military personnel in Mexico cannot keep or examine suspects or corpses, but must turn them over to civilian prosecutors. In areas where morgues are in short supply, medical examiners sometimes perform autopsies at funeral homes. The navy says Lazcano was killed after marines tried to search a group of suspicious men in a truck outside a baseball stadium, after receiving a tip there were armed men in the area. The men fired when the marines stopped the truck. One suspect died where the truck was stopped, but the man later identified as Lazcano fled across a field, where he was reportedly cut down by marine fire.
Photo by Ulysses S. Romero | The Zapata Times
Federal, state and local officials and law enforcement authorities along with TxDOT officials were on hand for the ground-breaking ceremony of the Department of Public Safety Laredo Criminal Laboratory next to DPS offices in Laredo on Tuesday afternoon.
$6.1M crime lab expected to aid area law enforcement By CÉSAR G. RODRIGUEZ THE ZAPATA TIMES
LAREDO — Soon, Zapata County Sheriff ’s Office will have access to a Department of Public Safety Crime Lab to examine DNA and ballistic evidence that’s closer to home. In Laredo, local law enforcement and politicians broke ground Tuesday on Laredo’s own DPS Crime Lab. The 81st Texas Legislature approved the $6.1 million for the 17,143-
square-foot facility. State Rep. Richard Raymond, who helped secure the money for the future state-of-art building, says the one thing people care about the most is public safety. Once built, the facility will be an important part of helping prosecutors and local law enforcement, he said. “When a crime occurs and there are victims … that family and those victims deserve for us to proceed swiftly, in a just fashion,” Raymond said.
On the federal side, U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar helped secure $250,000 in funding for lab equipment, including firing range equipment to provide safe and secure testing of firearms and a walk-in freezer for storage and preservation of DNA samples. Having tools and technology at reach helps law enforcement and prosecutors to seek justice quicker, Cuellar said. “You have to provide the justice. You can’t just be waiting for that evidence to be brought
… to Webb County,” he added. Isidro “Chilo” Alaniz, district attorney for Webb and Zapata counties, talked about the killing of 21-month-old Devian Bluntson and 6-year-old Jayden Thompson allegedly at the hands of Demond Bluntson, who is behind bars facing capital murder charges in Laredo. “This crime lab could’ve not come in a better time as we start preparing for the case,” he
See CRIME LAB PAGE 9A