"Like a dog on a chain
He ain't got no name
But it ain't him to blame
He's only a pawn in their game"
Bob Dylan
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Trinidad Salinas is not afraid of Armando Villalobos. He thinks he may be the only one. "Everybody's scared. I ain't scared," he proudly states. "No one else would come forward, but I don't like the corruption," the 67 year old Cameron County resident continues. In private conversation, Salinas admits that what initially angered him was the closing of his gaming house, especially since "other gaming houses exactly the same near Combes were not shut down."
It appears Salinas may be "just a pawn in their game" as this isn't about gaming houses, but about removing Armando Villalobos, the indicted district attorney, from office. It will happen eventually in one fashion or another, but Juan Angel Guerra, former Willacy County district attorney and current candidate for congress, district 34, wants it done sooner. Guerra wanted to initiate the action personally, but lived in the wrong county, thus Salinas gets his proverbial 15 minutes of fame.
Guerra, who could barely be heard, seems to start off by implying that the presence of Villalobos two attorneys, Rene Gonzalez and Sam Smith, was inappropriate unless they were willing to testify as private citizens as Salinas was. Judge Banales didn't seem to acknowledge that argument, but simply asked if Guerra was saying Villalobos needed to be removed because he had been indicted. Guerra responded by saying that this hearing was very limited in scope and preliminary.
Rene Gonzalez, the counsel for Villalobos, stated that Guerra had misinterpreted the effective code for this action. He quoted code section 87.018, sections E and F as requiring the county commissioners court to call for the district attorney in an adjacent county to file this action. He also asserted that Villalobos was actually not the district attorney in reality, but merely the county attorney.
Judge Banales wanted documentation to prove that point and ordered a 10 minute recess that turned into a 40 minute break. During the break Guerra was interviewed by several tv reporters about the hearing. Salinas walked out into the corridor and we took the opportunity to speak with him there.
After the break Judge Banales said there would be "no ruling today" and gave Guerra until May 30 at 9:00 am to "cure his affidavit." Without such a "cure," Banales said "the action would be rejected.
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Gonzalez didn't argue that Villalobos was not the district attorney, he argued Villalobos was both the county and district attorney. The law provides for a specific individual to be the one seeking removal. And it sure ain't juan 'the clown' guerra, the self proclaimed miracle worker to the elderly for owning a maquinita establishment that provides needed funds to a 'charity!'
ReplyDeleteI also had heard about Guerra's maquinita business that he claimed was legal because he was giving some money to charity (after he lined his pockets, no doubt). He called his illegal arcade "Buena Suerte Arcade", because it was a stroke of luck for him that he could take money from the elderly people he claims to protect and pocket it for himself. So...following Guerra's logic would the drug cartels suddenly become legal if they started giving some of their profits to charity??
DeleteGuerra brought the circus act to town but he forgot the goats and chickens this time around.
ReplyDeleteGuerra doesn't just have to "cure" the affidavit; he also cannot maintain this action unless he joins the State as a party. He hasn't, and probably can't, so this case is going nowhere.
ReplyDeleteCAN WE THE PEOPLE GET RID OF ARMANDO VILLALOBOS?
ReplyDelete