Two more probable cause affidavits that led to the arrest earlier this month of Cameron County Tax assessor Collector Tony Yzaguirre Jr. were released Tuesday to The Brownsville Herald by the Texas Department of Public Safety following a public information request by the newspaper.

The affidavits detail sting operation exchanges that allegedly took place on Oct. 7, 2015 and Nov. 15, 2015 in Yzaguirre’s office on East Harrison Street in which Yzaguirre reportedly accepted cash bribes from an undercover unnamed cooperating individual (CI).

Yzaguirre was one of four men from the Cameron County Tax Office arrested Jan. 6, in a multi-agency investigation that temporarily shut down operations at the tax office in an operation dubbed “Dirty Deeds.”

Yzaguirre was charged with four counts of bribery, a second-degree felony; engaging in organized criminal activity, a first-degree felony; and official oppression, a class A misdemeanor.

County tax investigator Pedro Garza was charged with bribery, engaging in organized criminal activity and official oppression.

Dealer/notary supervisor Omar Sanchez-Paz was charged with engaging in organized criminal activity and abuse of official capacity, a class A misdemeanor.

Jose Mireles was charged with bribery, engaging in organized criminal activity and official oppression.

The men were arrested and booked at the Carrizalez-Rucker Detention Center the same day, where they were later released on a personal recognizance bond issued by Magistrate Judge Alfredo Padilla.

The newly released affidavit claims Yzaguirre accepted an envelope with $200 cash from the CI to register two vehicles a 1998 Honda CR-V and a 2012 Jeep Liberty, without the CI having to wait in line or having staff at the tax office verify the identification documents presented by the CI.

According to the affidavit, the CI was able to immediately enter the secured area of Yzaguirre’s office for a one-on-one meeting on Oct. 7, and Nov. 15, 2015.

According to one of the affidavits, the CI took the vehicle registration documents, money and recording devices into the Yzaguirre’s office Oct. 7, 2015 to register a 2000 Honda Civic and a 2008 Dodge Charger. Yzaguirre reportedly called Sanchez Paz to his office and gave him the registration documents. Sanchez Paz allegedly returned to the office with the completed vehicle registrations.

Once the registrations were paid for, the CI took a white envelope from atop Yzaguirre’s desk and allegedly placed two $100 bills inside before closing it and leaving it on Yzaguirre’s desk, the affidavit states.

The other affidavit claims on Nov. 15, 2015 Yzaguirre allegedly called a clerk to his office and handed him the information for a Jeep Liberty and Honda CR-V which were to be registered. The clerk reportedly returned with the registration documents.

Once the CI took hold of the registration documents, the CI took a white envelope from atop Yzaguirre’s desk and allegedly placed two $100 bills inside before closing it and leaving it on Yzaguirre’s desk, the affidavit states.

Yzaguirre’s attorneys have said the charges against the county tax assessor-collector were unfounded attempts from Cameron County District Attorney Luis V. Saenz to benefit Saenz’ upcoming election campaign.

At a hearing on Jan. 21, prosecutors from the Cameron County District Attorney’s Office attempted to revoke the personal recognizance bonds against the four men on the basis that Padilla didn’t have the authority to issue the bond. Padilla denied the motion.

A Cameron County grand jury has indicted Tax Assessor-Collector Tony Yzaguirre Jr. on allegations he took money in exchange for letting someone avoid standing in line to transfer a car title and not requiring a photo of the person to whom the vehicle was transferred.

In all Yzaguirre was indicted on 10 counts of bribery, 11 counts of abuse of official capacity, one count of official oppression and one count of engaging in organized criminal activity.

Yzaguirre was arrested Jan. 6 at his office by a multi-agency group investigation that temporarily shut down operations at the tax office in an operation dubbed “Dirty Deeds.“

Two of Yzaguirre’s employees, Jose Mireles and investigator Pedro Garza, were indicted on similar charges.

1 of 4

A fourth man, dealer and notary supervisory Omar Sanchez-Paz, was indicted on four counts of official capacity, one count of abuse of official capacity and one count one engaging in organized criminal activity.

Authorities are investigating two shootings overnight that ended with a mother dead and her son injured at one crime scene and an off-duty federal agent injured at a second location.

Brownsville Police Chief Orlando Rodriguez released details of the shootings at a news conference Wednesday afternoon.

He said off-duty U.S. Border Patrol agent Juan Hernandez, 44, was sitting in his vehicle on Camelia Street with his unnamed girlfriend of six weeks when the woman’s ex-boyfriend, identified as 21-year-old Jesse Garcia drove up.

Rodriguez said Garcia approached the driver’s side of the agent’s car and allegedly pointed a pistol at Hernandez. The two men reportedly struggled with the gun and Hernandez was shot in the leg.

1 of 2

The chief said Garcia fled and was discovered a short time later at his family home on the 5000 block of Camelia Streeet near Santiago Lane.

He said when deputies and police approached Garcia opened fire. He said officers returned fire. Garcia was struck in the leg, arm and torso.

Rodriguez says during the gunbattle Garcia’s mother, 57-year-old Maria Isabel Garcia, came out of her house and was shot in the back. She was taken to Valley Baptist Medical Center and was dead on arrival.

Cameron County Precinct 1 Justice of the Peace Bennie Ochoa ordered an autopsy.

For breaking news alerts, download the Valley Morning Star free mobile app for iPhone or Android

HARLINGEN – Federal officials on Wednesday announced a partnership with local law enforcement in the Rio Grande Valley to pool resources to better investigate crimes committed against children.

Task force members include U.S. Immigration and Custom’s Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, the U.S attorney’s office, Cameron County district attorney’s office, the Harlingen and Brownsville police departments, the Cameron County sheriff’s office and the Brownsville Independent School District Police Department.

“We stand 100 percent behind this task force,” said Hector Leal, deputy chief of the Harlingen Police Department.

Homeland Security Investigations urges people to report suspected child predators or suspicious activity that involves endangerment to children by calling its toll-free hotline at 1-866-DHS-ICE or by filing a tip online at www.ICE.gov/tips

For breaking news alerts, download the Valley Morning Star free mobile app for iPhone or Android

HARLINGEN — The Harlingen South Hawks weathered storms and took the Los Fresnos Falcons’ best shots, but they were not to be denied.

Down two with four seconds left in overtime, South guard Jason Martinez took the inbound pass and knocked down a three from the deep left wing to lift the Hawks past Los Fresnos for a much-needed and very thrilling 59-58 win.

“I told the kids to play hard on that last possession,” South head coach Brian Molina said. “Los Fresnos is a great team and it was going to come down to a possession here and a possession there.

“We drew up a shot and God-willing, it went in.”

Full story at RGVSports.com

BROWNSVILLE — The second time Linda Galan called the police to report her abusive partner, an officer from the Brownsville Police Department told her something that would change her life forever.

He handed her a card and said, “You’re not alone. We can help you.”

The card the officer handed Galan had contact information for Friendship of Women, a nonprofit organization based in Brownsville that serves victims and survivors of domestic abuse.

Two days after she received that card, Galan entered the building and since 2012 has been receiving counseling for herself and her three children.

For the past three months, it’s been difficult for Galan to meet her appointments.

The working mother relies on the Brownsville Metro transit system, and her work schedule can’t always accommodate her appointments. But she tries to keep them the best she can.

The center in Brownsville is one of 21 local social service organizations benefiting from the AIM Media Texas Charities second annual fundraising campaign.

The campaign was created by the parent company of the Valley Morning Star, The Brownsville Herald, The Monitor in McAllen and Mid-Valley Town Crier to help as many people and families as possible.

Gloria Ocampo, director for Friendship of Women, said the $6,360 donated to the organization by AIM Media charities in 2014-2015 has provided supplies, counseling services, utilities, program supplies, food and other essentials.

From 2014 to 2015, a total of 925 people were served at the organization, including 635 adults and 290 children. Officials said 118 of those served were 5 years old or younger.

Ocampo said one of the support groups for moms and children is called The Kids Club. Through the support group, children are able to explore their feelings and experiences of domestic violence.

Ocampo explained that oftentimes parents don’t understand that for a child to witness domestic violence is the same as experiencing the violence first-hand.

“I think there is a big misunderstanding between witnessing and experiencing. Emotional and verbal abuse is domestic abuse. When people say their child only witnessed the domestic violence, it is minimized,” Ocampo said.

Minimizing domestic violence in the home can be hazardous to the development of a child, Ocampo said.

She explained that when children who grow up in healthier homes are asked to describe violence, they relate violence to movies or cartoons. However, children who have experienced domestic violence in their home relate it with what they see their parents do.

The decision to leave her partner was a difficult one. Galan said she was told by her partner that because she received housing and was from Mexico she would lose her home if she ever called the authorities to report the abuse. At the time, she felt like she deserved to be mistreated, she said.

Galan said that with counseling from Friendship of Women she has been able to gain a new perspective and self-esteem.

“Now I love myself, and I want to be healthy for my children,” Galan said.

HARLINGEN — Police said the gun used to shoot and kill Byron Pineda could not have been legally owned by the 16-year-old suspect who is charged with killing him.

The suspect is underage, making him ineligible to obtain a gun legally, police Sgt. David Osborne said.

Police are still investigating the shooting and trying to find out where the gun came from.

Pineda, 32, of Brownsville, was murdered early morning Jan. 20 at Rosemont Apartments, 1901 E. Tyler Ave., just east of 19th Street.

He died of a gunshot wound to the back after he allegedly was shot by a 16-year-old boy during an altercation at a party.

For the rest of this story and many other EXTRAS, go to our premium site, www.MyValleyStar.com.

Subscribe to it for only $6.99 per month or pur-chase a print subscription and receive the online version free, which in-cludes an electronic ver-sion of the full newspaper and extra photo galleries, links and other informa-tion you can’t find any-where else.

[email protected]

HARLINGEN — Police said the gun used to shoot and kill Byron Pineda could not have been legally owned by the 16-year-old suspect who is charged with killing him.

The suspect is underage, making him ineligible to obtain a gun legally, police Sgt. David Osborne said.

Police are still investigating the shooting and trying to find out where the gun came from.

Pineda, 32, of Brownsville, was murdered early morning Jan. 20 at Rosemont Apartments, 1901 E. Tyler Ave., just east of 19th Street.

He died of a gunshot wound to the back after he allegedly was shot by a 16-year-old boy during an altercation at a party.

Osborne said Pineda got into a fight with the suspect’s friend.

That’s when Pineda apparently was shot.

Osborne also said Pineda and the suspect did not know each other, but knew of each other.

“They were not close friends,” Osborne said.

According to the case report, Pineda was driven to the hospital by two women.

Five other people have been arrested in connection with the case and charged with failing to report the crime right away, police said.

Charged with a Class A misdemeanor for failing to report a felony are Stephanie Lee Lopez, 31, Crystal Rae Ramos, 24, Lorraine Camero, 24, Isis Rene Rivera, 33, and Albert Alexander Hernandez, 21.

Osborne said they failed to call police or emergency services and failed to render aid to the victim.

The apartment renter, Ramos, will be charged with an additional third-degree felony for tampering with evidence, police said.

According to Osborne, Ramos tried to clean up blood from the crime scene before police arrived, destroying evidence.

Officers were called to Harlingen Medical Center at 2:07 a.m. Jan. 20 for a man who had died of a gunshot wound.

Investigators learned the shooting happened inside an apartment at the complex.

The 16-year-old Harlingen teen currently is being held at the Darrell B. Hester Juvenile Justice Center in San Benito.

HARLINGEN — One of the new trends in keeping communities safe is not only predicting where crime will occur but being proactive in stopping it.

That’s what Police Chief Jeffry Adickes said yester-day when he unveiled the Harlingen Police Depart-ment’s new community education initiative.

Three parking spots have been designated as a “Community Safe Zone” within the police depart-ment parking lot.

It is a proactive step in crime prevention and keeping the community safe, Adickes said.

1 of 2

The purpose of the safe zone is to create a desig-nated area where citizens can safely meet when items are being bought and sold through websites such as Craigslist or other online markets or any other legal in-person transactions.

For the rest of this story and many other EXTRAS, go to our premium site, www.MyValleyStar.com.

Subscribe to it for only $6.99 per month or pur-chase a print subscription and receive the online version free, which in-cludes an electronic ver-sion of the full newspaper and extra photo galleries, links and other informa-tion you can’t find any-where else.

[email protected]