By Juan Montoya
Following our December 2019 post on the gray hairs Cameron County Sheriff' Omar Lucio is getting from the public attention being generated by some of his deputies for committing various alleged crimes, we received a tip that the eventual selection for a sergeant promotion may have a checkered past.
At the time we did not venture to post the allegation that Cameron County Sheriff Investigator Rodrigo Javier Almanza – who eventually got the job – may have been arrested for desertion from the Army back in October 2005.
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We generally applaud Lucio for adhering to a veterans preference policy in hiring his deputies and officers. A military background assures an employer that he or she is getting a dependable, disciplined individual who pays strict attention to policy, follows orders, and exhibits upright, honest behavior.
That's why when we followed up on a lead that Almanza had been arrested back then as he came back to the United States, we got an unpleasant surprise.
The new sergeant at the sheriff's department had indeed been stopped at the Brownsville-Matamoros (Old) Bridge and Customs Agent Marian Riley had entered his ID in the data base and showed that Alamanza was a deserter from the U.S. Army. (See graphic below)
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He was arrested, handed over to the Brownsville Police Dept., and then held at the Cameron County jail until Army officials could extradite him. We don't have access to military records, so we don't know what punishment was meted out to him in accordance to the Uniform Code of Military Justice. But that would have been available if the administration had performed its due diligence. Apparently, they did not.
Now, the question is, how thorough was the background check that was performed on Almanza when he was hired back then in July 16, 2013?
Obviously a proper vetting process was not in place that would have included his military history and arrest record with the U.S. Customs and the Brownsville Police Dept. as both were readily available to the sheriff department administration and personnel officer. And obviously the hiring and promotion process is somewhat lacking.
This revelation, coming as it is, after several other deputies ran afoul of the law come at the most inopportune time for Lucio, who is seeking the Democratic Party nomination and faces two challengers, former Cameron County District Clerk Eric Garza and former San Benito Police Chief Michael Galvan.
And what will be the effect on the morale of officers and sheriff department staff who served honorably in the military to have someone who deserted the U.S. Army as their superior? It's bad enough that at least two of their colleagues have been arrested for Official Oppression and Theft, accused of falsifying information by reducing a criminal charge of Driving While Intoxicated to a Public Intoxication. Now they have a sergeant who was arrested for desertion.
What next?
Following our December 2019 post on the gray hairs Cameron County Sheriff' Omar Lucio is getting from the public attention being generated by some of his deputies for committing various alleged crimes, we received a tip that the eventual selection for a sergeant promotion may have a checkered past.
At the time we did not venture to post the allegation that Cameron County Sheriff Investigator Rodrigo Javier Almanza – who eventually got the job – may have been arrested for desertion from the Army back in October 2005.
We generally applaud Lucio for adhering to a veterans preference policy in hiring his deputies and officers. A military background assures an employer that he or she is getting a dependable, disciplined individual who pays strict attention to policy, follows orders, and exhibits upright, honest behavior.
That's why when we followed up on a lead that Almanza had been arrested back then as he came back to the United States, we got an unpleasant surprise.
The new sergeant at the sheriff's department had indeed been stopped at the Brownsville-Matamoros (Old) Bridge and Customs Agent Marian Riley had entered his ID in the data base and showed that Alamanza was a deserter from the U.S. Army. (See graphic below)
Now, the question is, how thorough was the background check that was performed on Almanza when he was hired back then in July 16, 2013?
Obviously a proper vetting process was not in place that would have included his military history and arrest record with the U.S. Customs and the Brownsville Police Dept. as both were readily available to the sheriff department administration and personnel officer. And obviously the hiring and promotion process is somewhat lacking.
This revelation, coming as it is, after several other deputies ran afoul of the law come at the most inopportune time for Lucio, who is seeking the Democratic Party nomination and faces two challengers, former Cameron County District Clerk Eric Garza and former San Benito Police Chief Michael Galvan.
And what will be the effect on the morale of officers and sheriff department staff who served honorably in the military to have someone who deserted the U.S. Army as their superior? It's bad enough that at least two of their colleagues have been arrested for Official Oppression and Theft, accused of falsifying information by reducing a criminal charge of Driving While Intoxicated to a Public Intoxication. Now they have a sergeant who was arrested for desertion.
What next?