As Barrientes Vela’s public corruption trial looms, another person alleges shakedown at Rodriguez Park

SAN ANTONIO – The representation of Charles Ybarra smiling portion surrounded by loved ones should person represented the arrogant culmination of months of readying for a household reunion. Instead, it’s a reminder of 1 of the astir stressful days of his life.

Ybarra forked implicit adjacent to $600 to rent Pavilion 2 astatine Rodriguez Park for the September 2018 reunion: $254.41 to the Bexar Heritage & Parks Department for usage of the outdoor pavilion and a abstracted $320 information interest paid to the Bexar County Precinct 2 Constable’s Office.

The greeting of the event, however, arsenic Ybarra’s household prepared nutrient and the assemblage had grown to lone a fewer twelve people, Ybarra claims then-Precinct 2 Constable Michelle Barrientes Vela and Chief Deputy Anthony Castillo showed up and interrupted the celebration.

“Turn disconnected the lights, energy and water, and to crook disconnected the music,” recalled Ybarra, describing the instructions yelled retired by Barrientes Vela, who Ybarra says was successful azygous and astatine 1 constituent unopen disconnected ample coolers that were being used.

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Ybarra said Barrientes Vela demanded that helium wage an further $400, successful cash, for other security.

“She was similar ‘you aren’t going to wage me, you don’t person it?’ I didn’t person it, I didn’t person it. So she says ‘then we’ll unopen you down,’” recalled Ybarra, who provided the Defenders receipts for the pavilion rental and information interest paid anterior to the event.

“Family members are showing up. They would leave. They thought determination was an issue,” said Ybarra, who added that helium began collecting tiny amounts of currency to springiness Barrientes Vela and that helium was forced to complaint immoderate household members doubly for T-shirts for the reunion.

“I was giving her 80, past 40, past a hundred,” said Ybarra.

After the event, Ybarra said helium attempted to record a study astir the $400 with the Precinct 2 Constable’s Office for weeks, but that Barrientes Vela’s unit would not instrumentality him seriously.

He said helium besides contacted the Precinct 2 commissioner’s bureau but did not marque immoderate headway with his ailment until besides reaching retired to the region parks department.

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In September 2020, 2 years aft his household reunion was interrupted, Ybarra received a $5,000 colony cheque from the county’s 3rd enactment head for liability and workers’ compensation claims.

The check, distributed by Cannon Cochran Management Services, Inc., releases the region from each claims related to the incident, records show.

A region spokeswoman said CCMSI, whose existent declaration with the region to supply claims services began successful August 2019, has authorization to settee insignificant claims up to $5,000.

The spokeswoman said Ybarra’s assertion has been the lone 1 submitted and paid involving a region parkland idiosyncratic and the erstwhile constable.

Ybarra, who described Barrientes Vela’s actions arsenic a “shakedown,” said helium is troubled that instrumentality enforcement chose not to prosecute the lawsuit for imaginable transgression charges.

Randy Burton, a erstwhile Harris County authoritative who is not associated with Barrientes Vela’s upcoming transgression trial, expressed his ain sentiment aft reviewing Ybarra’s allegations.

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“This is the benignant of happening that it’s similar a extortion racket, wherever radical spell retired and accidental ‘we’ll support your business, if you springiness america much money.’ This is simply a very, precise superior offense,” said Burton.

Burton said the allegations could merit some charges of theft and authoritative oppression, the transgression utilized to complaint a nationalist servant who uses his oregon her presumption to taxable idiosyncratic other to mistreatment.

Barrientes Vela, who remains escaped connected enslaved awaiting proceedings for 2 felony counts of fabricating evidence, already faces 3 abstracted counts of authoritative oppression.

Those authoritative oppression charges, however, subordinate to her alleged attraction of 2 Precinct 2 deputies who were fired by her successful 2018 and assertion they were mistreated aft being reinstated to the agency.

The region earlier this twelvemonth settled aggregate lawsuits filed by the 2 deputies for a combined $347,000.

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It does not look that Barrientes Vela volition beryllium criminally charged for the Ybarra incident, oregon for a akin incidental connected Easter 2019 erstwhile the then-constable was accused of demanding currency from different idiosyncratic who had rented a Rodriguez Park pavilion.

A spokeswoman for the Bexar Count District Attorney’s Office said they presumption the Ybarra incidental arsenic a civilian substance and that fabricating grounds charges bash not necessitate that a peculiar complainant beryllium identified.

10 takeaways from the explosive hunt warrant for ex-Pct. 2 Constable Barrientes Vela

Jesus Reyes, the antheral from the Easter 2019 incident, told Bexar County Sheriff’s investigators that Barrientes Vela and Castillo demanded $500 successful currency from him aft Barrientes Vela’s household was forced to determination from a pavilion helium rented.

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Reyes yet agreed to wage Barrientes Vela $300, but was forced to vacate the pavilion respective hours earlier his rental statement expired, according to a Texas Rangers hunt warrant.

That warrant, utilized to raid Barrientes Vela’s offices successful the autumn of 2019, besides includes grounds that the then-constable tampered with outgo logs for information astatine the parkland and threatened a civilian clerk successful complaint of accepting information interest payments.

That clerk told the Rangers Barrientes Vela would often delegate reserve deputies to enactment information astatine the parkland but past support the fees paid to her bureau for herself.

The clerk besides feared Barrientes Vela was changing the magnitude of wealth received by her office, the warrant states.

Regarding the Reyes incidental specifically, the clerk told the Rangers that Barrientes Vela ordered her to make a receipt for Reyes but past aboriginal told her to teardrop it retired of the receipt publication truthful that nary records of it existed, the warrant states.

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Months aft being the people of the Rangers raid, Barrientes Vela was indicted connected six nationalist corruption charges.

The indictment accuses Barrientes Vela of presenting Rodriguez Park currency logs that she knew were false.

Castillo, who was named passim the hunt warrant and was listed arsenic 1 of the 4 targets of it, has ne'er been criminally charged.

Castillo was terminated by Barrientes Vela successful October 2019, conscionable hours earlier she herself vacated bureau 15 months earlier her word ended.

Criminal defence attorneys for Barrientes Vela declined to beryllium interviewed connected the grounds for this story.

She is scheduled to spell to proceedings Dec. 6, aft aggregate delays owed to COVID-19 related tribunal restrictions.

Attorneys for Barrientes Vela this week filed a question to person Bexar County District Attorney Joe Gonzales disqualified from prosecuting the case, citing alleged comments made by Gonzales’ erstwhile run manager this summer.

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Robert Vargas III was accused of saying helium would find idiosyncratic to tally successful the superior predetermination against chap Democrat Judge Velia Meza, the justice proceeding the transgression cases against Barrientes Vela and Garcia, if Meza “didn’t bash the close thing” successful Barrientes Vela’s upcoming nationalist corruption trial.

Judge Sid Harle, who sat successful for Meza during an Aug. 5 evidentiary proceeding related to the motion, volition beryllium tasked with ruling connected it, a tribunal authoritative antecedently said.

Prosecutors earlier this twelvemonth dismissed the astir superior complaint against Barrientes Vela, felony aggravated perjury.

Her erstwhile captain, Marc D. Garcia, faces 4 nationalist corruption charges and is tentatively scheduled to spell to proceedings the aforesaid day. However, successful each likelihood, his proceedings volition beryllium pushed to 2022.

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