While a jury found former Edinburg Mayor Richard Molina not guilty on a dozen voter fraud charges on Aug. 26, the cases against the remaining defendants appear to be far from over.
Molina, who had denied the accusations since his 2019 arrest, was facing allegations of 11 counts of voter fraud and one count of engaging in organized voter fraud.
Of the 17 remaining defendants, only his wife, Dalia Molina, and his former business partner, Julio Carranza, are also facing a charge of engaging in organized fraud.
They also each face two counts of illegal voting.
Both Carranza and Dalia Molina have pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Carranza, however, took the stand during the former mayor’s trial and told jurors that he pressured his employees to change their addresses to Edinburg to vote for Molina.
He testified he did so at the former mayor’s request.
The last hearings in their cases were in February and trial dates have not been scheduled, according to court records.
Aside from them, there are another 15 defendants in the case who are charged with a single count of illegal voting. They have all pleaded not guilty.
The remaining defendants include:
>> Jose Antonio Vela II
>> Daniel Castillo
>> Alyssa R. Cano
>> Ludivina Leal
>> Rosendo Rodriguez
>> Veronica Vela Saenz
>> Maria S. Aleman
>> Cynthia Tamez
>> Ruby Tamez
>> Crystal Lee Ponce
>> Guadalupe Sachez Garza
>> Araceli Montoya Gutierrez
>> Belinda Rodriguez
>> Brenda Rodriguez
>> Felisha Yolanda Rodriguez
Like Carranza and Dalia Molina, trials have not been scheduled in any of these cases, according to court records.
Status hearings in these cases have also been repeatedly reset.
The 15 defendants are next scheduled for court appearances in October.
