After A Standoff With Sheriff Deputies; A 35 Year Old Male Commits Suicide Inside His Residence In Rosita Valley

Maverick County Sheriff's Office (PRESS RELEASE) - On July 31, 2013 Sheriff Deputies of Maverick County were conducting an investigation into an Assault Family Violence case. Further investigation revealed that a male adult by the name of Andres Leija 35 years of age, had committed the Assault. At approximately 7:30 pm, the case was presented to Precinct 2 Justice of Peace Dora Madera. 

JP Madera then signed a Warrant of Arrest for Andres Leija, for the offence of Assault Family Violence. Investigators and Deputies arrived to suspects residence located at 188 Lisa Boulevard. Mr. Andres Leija was contacted and advised that a Warrant for his Arrest had been issued. Mr. Leija, refused to surrender and barricaded himself inside his residence. Deputies noticed a long barrel rifle on the inside window. A standoff ensued. Maverick County Sheriff Deputies made several communication attempts with Mr. Leija so he could surrender but he refused. A short time later what sounded like a gunshot was heard inside the residence. Moments later it was revealed that Mr. Andres had committed suicide with a .22 caliber long rifle. An ambulance was immediately summoned to the location and treated Mr. Leija. It was then revealed by paramedics that Mr. Leija did not have a pulse. Precinct 3 Justice of Peace Teresa Melendrez was summoned to the location and pronounced Mr. Andres Leija deceased at approximately 1:48 am on August 1, 2013. An autopsy was requested. Funereal Chapel arrived and took Mr. Andres Leija.

Questionable procedure may lead to 

Appointment of people's anti-choice

Staff

-Eagle Pass

In an official posting of an agenda for a special meeting of the Eagle Pass Independent School District Board of Trustees, former EPISD Board Member Rex McBeath may be appointed to the board this Thursday afternoon.

According to an agenda posted on the EPISD website, McBeath will be the only name submitted to the board during this special meeting.

In previous appointments, such as the one most recently upon the sudden resignation of Claudio Heredia, the board unanimously appointed local businessman Bennie Rodriguez, an accounting major and A&M graduate.

He too was the lone finalist, if you will, in the procedure to replace Heredia.

In previous appointments, a procedure by which each board member would make a nomination and then the board took each into consideration before making an appointment when naming Mark Garcia, a local businessman when Alfonso Nevarez stepped down some years ago; when Glenna Purcell was appointed in place of the late Lynn Purcell; and when naming Beatriz Garza, a member of the Kickapoo Traditional Tribe of Texas, who have never had representation on the board when Lupita Fuentes resigned some time ago. After setting such a precedent in the selection of new board members this board has obviously taken it upon themselves to single out individuals within our community and hand select replacements to the board.

In a statement from the spokesman for the district, Jesus Costilla, Ana Santleben has tendered her letter of resignation which will be effective after being put to the vote on Thursday. 

In the same meeting the board will also take action on approving Rex McBeath, a move that has been considered by many local residents as a step backwards for the district as Mr. McBeath has already served on the board and subsequently had been beaten by Rodolfo Lopez by nearly 1,000 votes.   

"The Board of Trustees will have a special board meeting to accept the resignation of Ani G. Santleben on August 1, 2013 at 12:30," stated Costilla, "The reason for her resignation is that family members have applied for employment with the district."

Gallego Passes Amendment for First Responders, Security, and Intelligence

Washington, D.C.: Congressman Pete Gallego (TX-23) passed an amendment to give the Department of Transportation more flexibility to move funds to the Office of Intelligence, Security, and Emergency Response in case of an emergency. The Gallego amendment ensures that should an emergency arise, the office can use discretion in how they use their funds and transfer those funds to best deal with the emergency. The zero-cost amendment is a common-sense approach to ensure that funds are flexible for the sake of national intelligence, national defense or emergency response within the Department of Transportation.

“The Office of Intelligence, Security and Emergency Response is an extremely important office,” said Congressman Gallego. “Under the current legislation, the lawyers at the Department of Transportation have been budgeted to receive twice as much as emergency responders.

We need to ask ourselves, what’s more important - the lawyers at the Department of Transportation, or the emergency responders and the Office of Security? My amendment gives the agency more flexibility for the sake of intelligence, national security and emergency response.” 

You can watch Congressman Gallego offer his amendment by clicking on the image below.

The Gallego amendment to the Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development (T-HUD) Appropriations Act gained the support of both the Republican Chairman and Democratic Ranking Member and passed on a vote of 317 to 91.

Background:

What the office of Intelligence, Security and Emergency Response does:
Ensures the development, coordination and execution of plans and procedures for the Department of Transportation to balance transportation security requirements with the safety, mobility and economic needs of the Nation through effective intelligence, security, preparedness and emergency response programs.

Major Projects of the office include:

• Development of DOT staff to provide meaningful and effective assistance and advice in the international crisis arena.
• Plans for acquisition and deployment of transportation resources to support the military engaged in NATO operations.
• Monitoring the insurance market indemnification arrangements to ensure that airlift capability to support NATO operations is not impeded by a lack of war risk insurance.
• Training for transportation experts to apply their expertise in international crisis management situations, including the NATO Rapid Reaction Teams and Civilian Response Corps members.
• Participation in Conflict and Stability Operations per terms of agreement and within the capabilities and mandates of the Department of Transportation.
• Work with emergency management leadership of Transport Canada to address common emergency preparedness and response areas of interest.