Special to El Rrun-Rrun
The dust hasn't cleared yet, but just today we have received word that the Cameron County Sheriff's Dept. administration – which had suspended Capt. Carlos Garza from service and sent him home without his badge or service weapon about two weeks ago – had fired him Wednesday.
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Later Wednesday afternoon, a source close to the sheriff's administration who asked for anonymity because he wasn't authorized to comment on the matter, confirmed that Garza had been terminated.
They said his termination does not mean the investigation is over, but is "still ongoing."
This followed other reports late Wednesday that Texas Rangers and FBI agents descended upon his home armed with search warrants.
Later Wednesday afternoon, a source close to the sheriff's administration who asked for anonymity because he wasn't authorized to comment on the matter, confirmed that Garza had been terminated.They said his termination does not mean the investigation is over, but is "still ongoing."
This followed other reports late Wednesday that Texas Rangers and FBI agents descended upon his home armed with search warrants.
The details are not clear yet, and our query to Deputy Chief Gus Reyna when Garza was reportedly suspended yielded a "no comment" response that made us wonder if the rumors surrounding his departure are true.
"I can neither confirm nor deny any issues regarding personnel matters," Reyna said. "We don't comment on personnel matters to the media, or to bloggers."
(That's Garza in the photo at right when he and Sheriff Omar Lucio escorted fugitive killer Amit Livingston from a plane at Valley Regional Airport after he had been captured by U.S. Marshals.)
The sheriff's administration under Lucio is said to have participated in the investigation of unspecified allegations against Garza, a seasoned law-enforcement officer who oversees the Criminal Investigation Division, Special Investigation Division and Jail Division and supervises over 300 employees on a daily basis.
He is also a member of the board of the Emergency Service District #1.
Some say that Garza was associated with a company under contract to the county to do the landscaping work at the Cameron County Airport in Bayview and that he had been seen operating some of their machinery. Others say it involves his alleged relationship with a towing company doing business in Brownsville.
But the Lucio administration would not specify the nature of the alleged wrongdoing.
But the Lucio administration would not specify the nature of the alleged wrongdoing.
This followed reports a few weeks ago that a female relative who also works in the sheriff's department was suspended for allegedly falsifying time sheets. It is unclear if the woman was under the Garza's supervision.