Brownsville man indicted on multiple charges in Porter High School incident

Eighteen-year-old Rodrigo Rivera Jr. from left, and 17-year-old Carlos A. Castellano walk into the Brownsville Police Department Courtroom to be arraigned by presiding judge Rene De Coss Wednesday morning, Aug. 17, 2022, on multiple charges. (Miguel Roberts/The Brownsville Herald)

An 18-year-old Brownsville man involved in an Aug. 16, 2022 police chase, shooting involving an officer and stolen car incident near Porter Early College High School has been indicted on multiple charges.

Rodrigo Rivera Jr. waived the reading of the indictment against him and entered a not guilty plea via e-file Wednesday before 107th state District Judge Benjamin Euresti Jr.

A Cameron County grand jury on Dec. 7, 2022, indicted Rivera on two counts of aggravated assault against a peace officer, two counts of aggravated assault against a security guard, one count of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and one count of evading arrest.

According to the indictments, Rivera intentionally and knowingly threatened two Brownsville Independent School District peace officers and security guards by driving a motor vehicle toward them and “used or exhibited a deadly weapon, namely a motor vehicle, during the commission of an assault.”

The indictment also states that Rivera threatened another person with bodily injury when he used the motor vehicle as a deadly weapon, and intentionally fled from a peace officer who was trying to arrest him.

Brownsville police were first notified of the events at 8:44 a.m. Aug. 16, 2022, on a call from a victim indicating that a 2011 gray Ford Focus had been stolen from the 2900 block of East 32nd Street, Martin Sandoval, spokesman for the Brownsville Police Department, said in an earlier interview.

Moments later, at 8:48 a.m., Brownsville police received a call for assistance from Brownsville Independent School District police dispatch.

“Preliminary information received from BISD was that subjects in a gray Ford Focus had shot toward Porter High School; a BISD officer had observed the vehicle and was now in pursuit of the car near in the area of North Expressway and Boca Chica Boulevard,” Sandoval stated in a news release issued later that day.

Sandoval said BPD treated the incident as an officer involved shooting “because there were shots fired inside the property of Porter High School.”

Porter was placed under lockdown as soon as the incident began to unfold, BISD Superintendent René Gutiérrez said at a late-morning news conference on Aug. 16, 2022.

“The safety and security of our students there at Porter was never compromised. … Our officers are well trained and this training came into practice today. … I’m thankful that everything we have done to keep our students and staff safe was in practice today.”

Rivera remains jailed at a Cameron County facility on a $365,000 bond.


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