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| NEWS > 13 September 2007 |
Other related articles:
Unified Government to pay $499
Wyandotte County’s Unified Government will pay almost a half million dollars to settle a Kansas City, Kan., police misconduct lawsuit related to a disturbance at a teen’s birthday party.
Seven family members and two friends at the November 2005 party received half of the $499,000 settlement Saturday. They will get the rest next year, lawyers said.
The government is self-insured and did not have enough money in that fund, its lawyer said. The Unified Government commission this month approved issuing general obligation bonds or temporary notes for the money.
The lawsui... Read more
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 Article sourced from
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Brownsville Herald - TX United
13 September 2007
This article appeared in the above title/site.
To view it in its entirity click this link.
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Mission Police Department, TX
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Mission police officer accused
Police officials have indefinitely suspended a patrol officer after he was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of sexually assaulting a co-worker.
McAllen Municipal Court Judge Kathleen Henley arraigned Alexis Rigoberto Espinoza, 24, on a charge of sexual assault in connection with a Sept. 1 incident in which he allegedly raped a female co-worker in the front seat of her SUV, court documents show.
Police say the incident occurred about 3 a.m. on the 1900 block of Pelican Avenue. Authorities withheld the woman’s name and position within the department to protect her privacy.
The woman first contacted police Sept. 2, and investigators questioned Espinoza last week. He turned himself in Wednesday and was charged with sexual assault and jailed in lieu of a $50,000 bond. If convicted he faces up to a year in prison and a $20,000 fine.
Espinoza’s attorney, Dahlila Guerra, painted the police investigation as incomplete and said her client did not rape the woman.
Text messages used as evidence
Investigators have collected an exchange of text messages between Espinoza and the alleged victim, citing it as part of the probable cause for his arrest.
The woman also showed bodily signs of rape, and she had bruises on her left thigh and neck, court documents show.
Espinoza denied the rape and sending the text messages, telling police in a written statement that a girlfriend used his phone.
Police said they have a record of the text message exchange, which started about 4 a.m. the day after the suspected rape.
The first messages tell Espinoza to “leave me alone! Don’t call me!” according to the probable cause affidavit in the case.
The exchange lasted nearly an hour, with the woman later accusing him of “forcing himself on other women,” the affidavit says.
“U think ur the only one. Please,” came the response from Espinoza’s phone.
Police have questioned Espinoza’s girlfriend, and court documents say “her story regarding the text messages was inconsistent.”
Guerra, Espinoza’s attorney, said her client did not send the text messages and said she could not speak to who did send them.
“It’s not a complete investigation,” she said Wednesday evening, declining to elaborate while the case is pending.
Guerra also challenged the credibility of the accuser, saying her client never parked with the woman on Pelican Avenue.
‘Maintaining integrity’
Espinoza came to the Mission Police Department in summer 2006 as a rookie patrolman. About 15 months later, his future in law enforcement is uncertain.
The department launched an internal investigation into Espinoza’s conduct last week as McAllen police questioned him about the rape, said Lt. Martin Garza, a Mission police spokesman.
Mission police Chief Leo Longoria then placed Espinoza on indefinite suspension without pay. Barring an appeal, that means Espinoza is done at Mission.
“This is obviously a sensitive situation for the Mission police family,” Garza said, referring to the department’s 115 officers and 46 civilian employees.
The department has treated the alleged victim as it would any other, working to make sure she feels comfortable, Garza said.
Now, the department must move forward.
“Through this all,” Garza said, “we want to make sure we keep the integrity of the department and the faith of the people of Mission.”
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