PROGRESO — Alfredo Espinosa was smacked with a one-two punch late Tuesday night.

Investigators with the Hidalgo County District Attorney's Office said they caught up with the Progreso city manager as he rolled through a stop sign in a city-owned Chevrolet Tahoe SUV about 10:30 p.m. Tuesday.

The district attorney's investigators were seeking Espinosa to serve a grand jury subpoena related to an ongoing municipal election corruption probe.

But when they caught up to him while he was at the wheel on Malone Street, authorities chose to arrest him, too, on suspicion of driving while intoxicated.

"When we pulled him over and attempted to serve him, we noticed there was an open container of alcohol along with an additional six-pack," said Jorge Salazar, an Hidalgo County district attorney's investigator who stopped Espinosa. "It just went on from there."

Hidalgo County sheriff's deputies and Hidalgo County Precinct 1 constable's deputies responded to the scene as the DWI investigation unfolded, Salazar said. Espinosa smelled of alcohol and refused a field sobriety test and a breath test before he was transported and booked the Hidalgo County Jail.

The city-owned SUV driven by Espinosa during his arrest is co-registered in his name and to the city of Progreso, which did not have sufficient credit to purchase the vehicle outright, Salazar said.

Espinosa, 49, was expected to meet with the grand jury before his arraignment on the DWI charge Wednesday afternoon, Salazar said. He was arraigned on one count of driving while intoxicated and was released on a $3,000 personal recognizance bond Wednesday evening.

"He had a busy schedule today - just as a city manager would," Salazar said.

Tuesday night's DWI arrest was not the first for Espinosa.

Court records show an Hidalgo County judge sentenced him to six months of probation after he pleaded no contest to driving while intoxicated in June 2007.

He was also arrested on suspicion of public intoxication in Weslaco in 2005, Salazar said.

Espinosa would have to serve at least 30 days and up to one year in jail for a second DWI conviction. He could also lose his driver's license for up to two years.

District Attorney Rene Guerra has an ongoing investigation into allegations of voter fraud and election tampering in Progreso. Guerra has said grand jurors have already uncovered several areas of concern.

"I expect this grand jury to return indictments," he said in a Monitor story published Monday.

Progreso Mayor Omar Vela said the district attorney's probe into election misdeeds is nothing but a "witch hunt."

"I don't condone (Espinosa) drinking and driving, especially using a city vehicle," said Vela, adding that he had not been served with a subpoena Wednesday afternoon. "But I believe it's kind of hard to stay out of trouble when you're being targeted."

Investigators have managed to serve about six subpoenas so far but have had to resort to trolling this close-knit border community late at night or early in the morning to actually find their witnesses, Salazar said.

More witnesses are expected to be subpoenaed in the coming weeks.

"We've been having problems during the day," Salazar said. "As soon as we serve the first one, word gets around and everybody hides."

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Jared Taylor covers law enforcement and general assignments for The Monitor. You can reach him at (956) 683-4439.