La Joya ISD police arrested two teenagers last month after a weapons scare at Palmview High School, according to a probable cause affidavit obtained by The Monitor on Wednesday.
Police charged 18-year-old Alejandro Mendez Jr., of Mission, and 17-year-old Brandon Alexis Vicencio, of Penitas, with terroristic threat/reaction of emergency agency.
Vicencio received a $5,000 bond, while Mendez received a $1,000 bond.
According to a probable cause affidavit, on the morning of August 16, a student showed a district police officer a Snapchat video of two individuals in a truck driving onto campus, the driver holding a pistol and the passenger a machete.
School officials confirmed to The Monitor that day that law enforcement were reacting to the video, but did not say whether any arrests were made or whether the campus was locked down.
The affidavit says police identified the person who uploaded that video as Mendez, a student at La Joya West Academy, and made contact with him, though no weapon was found on his person.
Meanwhile, police were able to find the truck from the video, which was still parked in a student’s parking lot.
Vicencio, the driver of the truck, allowed police to search the vehicle, the affidavit said. Inside, police found a machete and what proved to be an airsoft handgun rather than an actual firearm.
The affidavit said the teens implicated themselves and indicated Vicencio carried the toy gun in the video while Mendez held the machete.
Mendez was booked at the Hidalgo County Adult Detention Center on Aug. 18, while Vicencio was booked Aug. 19.
