BROWNSVILLES — The trial of a former Cameron County juvenile detention center employee accused of stealing $1.2 million worth of fajitas has been rescheduled for the end of April.
Gilberto Escamilla, 53, was scheduled for trial today, but during a closed-door meeting Friday morning with visiting Judge J. Manuel Banales, the trial was pushed back until April 23.
Banales was appointed to oversee the proceedings after 107th state District Judge Benjamin Euresti recused himself, as he is one of the judges who oversees the Darrel B. Hester Juvenile Detention Center, Escamilla’s former employer.
The Cameron County District Attorney’s Office Special Investigations Unit arrested Escamilla last year after a driver from Labatt Food Service in Harlingen called the detention center’s kitchen to let employees know their 800-pound delivery of fajitas had arrived.
Minor inmates at the detention center are not served fajitas.
Investigators who searched Escamilla’s home found packets of fajitas in his refrigerator, according to authorities.
After digging through documents from the food vendor, the Cameron County Auditor’s Office alleged that Escamilla used $1,251,578 in county funds to purchase fajitas during a span of nine years.
Escamilla has pleaded not guilty to two counts of theft of property worth more than $200,000 and has bailed out of jail on a $30,000 bond.
