Bull Butter
01-18-2008, 08:42 PM
http://www.caller.com/news/2008/jan/18/alice-mayor-indicted-2-felony-counts/
Alice mayor indicted on 2 felony counts
Saenz Lopez indicted for tampering with evidence and concealing evidence related to stolen dog allegations
By Jaime Powell
ALICE — Alice Mayor Grace Saenz Lopez, already dogged by a civil lawsuit over allegations that she stole her neighbor’s Shih Tsu, was indicted on two felony counts – tampering with evidence and concealing evidence – related to the dog.
The saga of Puddles who has since been renamed Panchito by Lopez, started over the summer when the mayor agreed to watch a sickly puppy belonging to her neighbors. Rudy Gutierrez and Shelly Cavazos and their kids. They were headed for vacation, and left the dog that had been ravaged by fleas, with the mayor. Lopez called the family a day later to tell them the dog died.
When a family member happened up on Puddles at an Alice dog groomer three months later, the fur hit the fan. Lopez refused to return the dog. And the family filed a criminal complaint and a civil lawsuit against the mayor.
There was a hearing set for Feb. 4, where District Judge Richard Terrell was set to decide the custody battle over Puddles/Panchito, said Gutierrez’s and Cavazos’ attorney DeeAnn Torres.
Friday’s indictments came after Lopez filed a police report on Monday saying that the dog was missing and suggested to Alice police that it might have been stolen by Gutierrez.
Alice Police Lt. Luis Barrera said investigators searched the Gutierrez home, but the dog wasn’t there. It was a television crew that found the dog at Lopez’s look-a-like twin sister Gracie Garcia’s house in Ben Bolt, roughly 10 miles from Alice.
“A television reporter came to our police department to report what he had discovered and at that time we filed reports against Grace and Gracie for fabrication or tampering with evidence,” Barrera said.
Garcia, who sits on the Ben Bolt-Palito Blanco School Board, explained the dog’s reappearance, claiming that a “mysterious lady” had found it and dropped it off at her house in Ben Bolt, roughly 10 miles from Alice.
Garcia was indicted on a single felony count of concealing evidence—namely the Shih Tzu in question, said District Attorney Joe Frank Garza
Alice mayor indicted on 2 felony counts
Saenz Lopez indicted for tampering with evidence and concealing evidence related to stolen dog allegations
By Jaime Powell
ALICE — Alice Mayor Grace Saenz Lopez, already dogged by a civil lawsuit over allegations that she stole her neighbor’s Shih Tsu, was indicted on two felony counts – tampering with evidence and concealing evidence – related to the dog.
The saga of Puddles who has since been renamed Panchito by Lopez, started over the summer when the mayor agreed to watch a sickly puppy belonging to her neighbors. Rudy Gutierrez and Shelly Cavazos and their kids. They were headed for vacation, and left the dog that had been ravaged by fleas, with the mayor. Lopez called the family a day later to tell them the dog died.
When a family member happened up on Puddles at an Alice dog groomer three months later, the fur hit the fan. Lopez refused to return the dog. And the family filed a criminal complaint and a civil lawsuit against the mayor.
There was a hearing set for Feb. 4, where District Judge Richard Terrell was set to decide the custody battle over Puddles/Panchito, said Gutierrez’s and Cavazos’ attorney DeeAnn Torres.
Friday’s indictments came after Lopez filed a police report on Monday saying that the dog was missing and suggested to Alice police that it might have been stolen by Gutierrez.
Alice Police Lt. Luis Barrera said investigators searched the Gutierrez home, but the dog wasn’t there. It was a television crew that found the dog at Lopez’s look-a-like twin sister Gracie Garcia’s house in Ben Bolt, roughly 10 miles from Alice.
“A television reporter came to our police department to report what he had discovered and at that time we filed reports against Grace and Gracie for fabrication or tampering with evidence,” Barrera said.
Garcia, who sits on the Ben Bolt-Palito Blanco School Board, explained the dog’s reappearance, claiming that a “mysterious lady” had found it and dropped it off at her house in Ben Bolt, roughly 10 miles from Alice.
Garcia was indicted on a single felony count of concealing evidence—namely the Shih Tzu in question, said District Attorney Joe Frank Garza