E-E board member to resign, admits drug problem

EDINBURG — Edcouch-Elsa school board trustee Manuel Hernandez Jr. told a judge on Monday that he has a drug problem and wants to seek treatment.

The beleaguered elected official, who has been arrested three times in the last four months, pleaded guilty to one count of burglary and promised to resign his seat on the school board if the court dropped other charges against him.

Under his plea deal with prosecutors, Hernandez, 29, will serve 45 days in an in-patient drug rehabilitation facility and eight years of deferred adjudication. He was also ordered to pay a $750 fine.

The decision to resign from the board of trustees, however, only came at the insistence of state District Judge Aída Salinas Flores, who threatened to throw out the deal if he refused.

“The court is not going to put him on probation, send him to (rehab) and then continue to let him serve as a role model to the community,” she said.

Hernandez was facing charges stemming from three separate incidents in as many months.

Hidalgo County sheriff’s deputies arrested him in October on burglary and assault charges after he broke into his common-law wife’s Monte Alto home and allegedly attacked her during an argument. Prosecutors decided to only file burglary charges against him after the woman asked them not to prosecute Hernandez.

Less than three weeks later, he landed in jail again when Elsa police took him into custody at his mother’s request during a violent confrontation at his grandmother’s home. During the booking process, officers found less than a gram of cocaine in his pocket.

Then, in December, Hernandez was pulled over on a traffic violation and resisted an officer who tried to arrest him on suspicion of drunk driving. He was charged with public intoxication and resisting arrest.

He remained quiet during much of Monday’s court proceedings and could not be reached for comment afteward. His lawyer, Jaime Jerry Muñoz, did not return several phone calls.

By pleading guilty to the burglary count, Hernandez avoided as many as 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000.

“The children of this community are looking up to you,” the judge told Hernandez. “It’s imperative that you get your life together.”

Edcouch-Elsa school officials said they hadn’t had any contact with Hernandez throughout the day, and as of early Monday evening he had not formally resigned.

However, whether or not he submits a formal letter of resignation, his fellow trustees now have grounds to remove him from the board, school board President Juan Jose Ybarra Jr. said.

“He admitted to a felony,” he said. “It gives Mr. Hernandez an opportunity to get his life straight and gives the board a chance to move on.”

Board members had previously requested Hernandez’s resignation after his November arrest but could not forcibly remove him because state law stipulates trustees can only lose their seats for incompetence, official misconduct, alcohol intoxication or conviction on a felony charge.

During the past few months, Hernandez has only shown up to a few board meetings, Ybarra said.

District officials have not yet decided whether to appoint a replacement or hold a special election to fill Hernandez’s seat, which is up for election in November.

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Jeremy Roebuck covers courts and general assignments for The Monitor. You can reach him at (956) 683-4437.