A former Cameron County employee sentenced to 50 years for stealing $1.2 million worth of fajitas over a period of nine years will be eligible parole next year.
State records indicate Gilberto Escamilla, 57, is eligible for parole May 24, 2023. He remains incarcerated at Alfred Hughes Unit in Gatesville, Texas.
According to court documents, the thefts occurred between 2008 and 2017 while Escamilla served as the food administrator for the Darrell B. Hester Juvenile Justice Center in San Benito. An audit revealed that Escamilla purchased 1,252,578.72 worth of fajitas for the juvenile center using Cameron County funds. Instead of serving the fajitas at the juvenile center, Escamilla sold the meat to individuals and restaurants keeping the proceeds for himself.
Escamilla was arrested in 2017 after a driver from Labatt Food Service in Harlingen called detention center’s kitchen to let them know their 800-pound delivery of fajitas arrived. An employee who answered the phone said he was in charge of that kitchen, and fajitas are not on the menu at the center.
On April 20, 2018 Escamilla waived his right to a jury trial and pleaded guilty to one count of theft by a public servant. Visiting State District Judge J. Manuel Bañales sentenced him to 50 years in state prison. He was also ordered to pay restitution of the $1,251,578.72 to Cameron County plus court cost.
In June 2018, Escamilla filed a motion for a new sentencing hearing stating he had ineffective counsel and an illegal basis for sentencing. His request was denied.
Escamilla later sought to have his conviction overturned by the 13th Court of Appeals citing he had ineffective counsel and that an associate judge did not have authority to accept his written waiver of his right to jury trial, however the higher court affirmed the 50 year sentence.
Escamilla’s projected release date from prison is May 24, 2038.
