Pharr chief picked to serve on state law enforcement commission

PHARR — Gov. Rick Perry has picked Pharr’s police chief to serve as a member of the state’s law enforcement commission.

Chief Ruben Villescas was appointed along with two others late last month to join the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement Officer Standards and Education, according to a news release posted Friday on Perry’s Web site. The commission helps monitor training and ethics for law enforcement and corrections personnel in the state.

Also appointed last month were Melissa Goodwin, an Austin attorney with Potts & Reilly LLP, and J.B. Pennington of Jersey Village, a senior police officer with the Houston Police Department and the liaison officer for the Harris County District Attorney’s Office. The trio’s terms are set to expire Aug. 30, 2015.

The commission is comprised of nine members each appointed by the governor. Commissioners serve terms of six years and without compensation except for reasonable and necessary expenses, according to the agency’s Web site. Three are members of the general public, three are law enforcement chief executive officers, and three are line personnel from law enforcement agencies at the time of their appointment.

Villescas is the regional director of the Texas Police Chiefs Association, a member of the Pharr Police Academy Advisory Board and a member and past president of the Rio Grande Valley Police Chiefs Association. He is also past vice chairman of the Domestic Violence Task Force for the Rio Grande Valley and a past member of the Pharr Boys & Girls Club Board of Directors and the Pharr Lions Club.

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Ana Ley covers law enforcement and general assignments for The Monitor. She can be reached at (956) 683-4428.