Current, former police chiefs indicted on criminal counts
EDINBURG - A grand jury indicted a current and former Rio Grande Valley police chief Tuesday on charges stemming from separate cases.
Jose Luis Vela, the 43-year-old former chief of the Alton Police Department, faces multiple counts of sexual assault and one count of theft by a public servant, Hidalgo County District Attorney Rene Guerra said.
Charges were also filed against Edcouch police Chief Eloy Cardenas in connection with a February incident in which he allegedly fired at the car of his wife's ex-husband as the man drove by their home.
Cardenas was recently reinstated to his job after he was suspended with pay in connection with the criminal allegations against him. Alton city officials fired Vela in September.
An indictment is a formal accusation of criminal conduct and notice to a defendant that prosecutors intend to pursue the person's conviction.
Vela
Hidalgo County sheriff's deputies arrested Vela on Aug. 30 following allegations he performed oral sex on a male employee after the man passed out drunk at a party almost two years ago.
Vela also purportedly violated another male worker while that man was unconscious at a separate get-together in July 2007 and stole a seized weapon from his department's evidence locker last year, according to court documents.
Last week, four of his former officers filed a lawsuit alleging Vela and the city of Alton had ignored reports of the alleged abuse and threatened to blackball them if they told anyone else.
The former chief could not be reached for comment Tuesday. It was unclear whether he had retained an attorney.
Vela faces up to 20 years in prison and $10,000 in fines if convicted.
Cardenas
Cardenas, who has referred comment to his attorney since his arrest, admitted to firing several bean-bag shells at the car in question, court documents show.
The incident was the latest dustup in a long-running feud between Cardenas and his wife's ex-husband, Isidro Rodriguez. The men had previously accused each other of death threats, animal slaying and harassment.
But this is not the first time the chief has found himself under a grand jury's scrutiny.
Edcouch hired him in 2000 as its new police chief even while he was under indictment for theft and money laundering charges. He has since been cleared on those counts.
Cardenas' attorney, Hector Villarreal, could not be reached for comment Tuesday.
His client faces up to 10 years in prison and $10,000 in fines if convicted.
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Jeremy Roebuck covers courts and general assignments for The Monitor. You can reach him at (956) 683-4437.
