FBI: Guerrero tried to bribe, threaten Mexican police

EDINBURG — Mexican authorities kicked Omar Guerrero out of the country in February because he offered a $50,000 bribe to a police commander and threatened him by saying he had ties to the Gulf Cartel, an FBI agent said in a pretrial hearing Thursday.

“He denied he was Omar Guerrero,” said Jorge Cisneros, the FBI agent who picked Guerrero up in Reynosa on Feb. 17.

“He kept saying to me in Spanish, ‘I want my father.’”

Cisneros, who often serves as the FBI’s local spokesman, was a state witness in a pretrial hearing in Guerrero’s sexual assault case before Judge Aida Salinas Flores in the 398th state District Court.

Guerrero, the former Hidalgo County district clerk, is accused of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old Mission girl. A warrant was issued for his arrest in December, but he fled to Mexico. Prosecutor Judith Cantu said the fact that Guerrero hid in Mexico for two months proves he admits guilt.

Defense attorney Ric Salinas questioned Cisneros' testimony, because Cisneros had not filed a report about Guerrero's exchange with Mexican police.

Cisneros said it was neither procedure nor customary for an agent executing a warrant for unlawful flight from prosecution to file a report. He added that he passed along any useful information to the FBI agents who were handling the Guerrero case.

Mexican authorities, who had been alerted to the search for Guerrero, arrested him at a Reynosa 7-11 store.

Back at the police station, he told the Mexican officers in Spanish that he was a Mexican citizen and that he was not the man for whom they were looking, Cisneros said.

When immigration police found out he was not a Mexican national, they handed him over to Cisneros.

On Thursday, Cisneros said Guerrero switched to English once he crossed the international bridge and that he claimed Mexican police asked him for a $10,000 bribe.

Jury questions

Judge Flores did not rule whether Cisneros’ testimony would be allowed during the trial.

She did manage to review questions that the defense is expected to use to weed out potential jurors starting next week.

About 150 people are set to receive the questionnaire Monday.

They will fill it out and then the attorneys will have two days to pick a jury.

Flores ordered the unusually large number of potential jurors because she feels there will be some difficulties finding unbiased jurors based on the media coverage surrounding Guerrero.

Heated arguments

So far, the proceedings in the case have been marked largely by the spirited arguments that have taken place between Salinas and Cantu, the attorneys.

Flores has already warned both attorneys that if they continue to attack each other’s credibility she will hold them in contempt.

Thursday was no different.

Twice, the judge admonished the attorneys.

The first time was when Salinas kept interrupting her, complaining about Cantu’s remarks about him.

“You are as guilty of making disparaging remarks as she is,” the judge said to Salinas. “If I am not looking at you, you may not speak.”

Flores’ second warning was directed at Cantu, who complained Salinas was insulting her.

“Do two wrongs make a right?” the judge said.

“Then stop it.”

____

Andres R. Martinez covers courts and general assignments for The Monitor. He can be reached at (956) 683-4434.