Miriam Valdez, 21, was charged with involuntary manslaughter after she shot her boyfriend Damián Bazán, 20, in the head while they were playing with a gun inside a car at 1300 Hermosa Vida Drive, Donna. At a Friday hearing, the judge reduced her bail from un millón to 250 mil dólares and ordered that she not possess firearms while the case is pending.

Brownsville ISD evacuated Pena Elementary on Friday morning after smoke from a brush fire near the school drifted onto the campus, moving students and staff to Garcia Middle School. The fire department was called to extinguish the brush fires on the development site, and the district provided lunch for all. Parents could pick up children early with a valid ID, and the early pickup did not affect attendance.

A 61‑year‑old Pharr man, Martin Hernandez Alvarado, was sentenced Monday by State District Judge Bobby Flores after a jury found him guilty of continuous sexual abuse of a 6‑year‑old and a 12‑year‑old. The court imposed a 40‑year term for the continuous abuse and a concurrent 20‑year term for indecency with a child. The case stemmed from allegations received by Pharr police on March 17, 2021.

The Hidalgo County Precinct 1 Commissioner’s Office dispatched a crew to repair Abel Montes’ collapsed driveway in Mercedes after Channel 5 News contacted the office Thursday morning. Montes said the ground gave way while he was returning from Walmart, and the city claimed the drainage ditch belongs to it but the sinkhole is on private property, complicating responsibility for the repair.

The McAllen Police Department is asking the public to help locate 27‑year‑old Carlos Alberto Moran, wanted for multiple vehicle burglaries and a stolen 2005 GMC Canyon reported on Oct. 19, 2026, at the 600 block of North McColl Road. Moran is described as 5 ft 7 in, about 130 lb, with black hair, brown eyes and a distinctive facial tattoo.

The La Grulla Volunteer Fire Department received a $25,000 grant from the Texas A&M Forest Service to purchase new rescue tools, chainsaws, and emergency supplies.

Joseph Michael Badillo, 25, was arrested on animal cruelty charges after Elsa police officers found three dogs living in unsanitary conditions without shelter, food, or water.

Florentino Garcia Lerma, 67, was sentenced to 50 years in prison after being convicted in Hidalgo County on multiple counts of child sexual abuse involving three victims under age 14.

HARLINGEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) — A 67-year-old Alamo man convicted of sexually abusing three children under the age of 14 will spend 50 years in prison. A Hidalgo County jury found Florentino Garcia Lerma guilty of two counts of continuous sexual abuse of a young child, two counts of aggravated assault of a child and six [...]

Defense attorneys rested their case in the punishment phase for Rogelio Martinez, convicted in the 2023 death of San Benito Police Lt. Milton Resendez. Jurors are now weighing life without parole versus the death penalty.

HARLINGEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) — McAllen police are searching for a man accused of stealing a vehicle and burglarizing three others. Carlos Alberto Moran, 27, whose last known address is in McAllen, is wanted on charges of auto theft and three counts of burglary of a vehicle. McAllen police identified Moran as a suspect after investigating [...]

HARLINGEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) — The defense rested its case Thursday morning for Rogelio Martinez, the man convicted in the 2023 killing of San Benito Police Lt. Milton Resendez. The prosecution called rebuttal witnesses, Maria Castro, a Cameron County adult probation worker, and Melissa Resendez. Earlier Thursday, Martinez's father, Rogelio Martinez Sr., testified for the defense, [...]

Florentino Garcia Lerma, a 67‑year‑old man from Alamo, was sentenced this week after a Hidalgo County jury found him guilty of multiple sexual offenses against three children under 14. The convictions stem from allegations reported to Alamo police on Nov. 3, 2023, and resulted in a 50‑year prison term, the length of which residents will note as the key outcome.

Jurors in Brownsville began deliberations Thursday afternoon on the sentencing of 21‑year‑old Rogelio Martinez Jr., convicted of killing San Benito police Lieutenant Milton Resendez on Oct. 17, 2023. The defense urged a life‑without‑parole verdict, while prosecutors pressed for the death penalty. Residents will learn whether the jury opts for capital punishment or a life sentence.

During the sentencing phase in Brownsville, both the state and defense rested after Melissa Resendez, the wife of slain San Benito officer Lt. Milton Resendez, testified on Thursday. The jury, which previously found Rogelio Martinez Jr. guilty of murder on Oct. 8, will now hear closing arguments and begin deliberations on whether to impose the death penalty. Martinez’s co‑defendant has already pleaded guilty to a lesser murder charge.

"I’m going to be OK.”

Tense courtroom exchanges marked the punishment phase of the Rogelio Martinez capital murder trial in Cameron County as defense witnesses testified about his childhood trauma while jurors weigh the death penalty.

HARLINGEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) -- Day three of the punishment phase in the Rogelio Martinez case were met with tense moments as prosecutors challenged defense witnesses who described Martinez differently from the man convicted of murder. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty for Martinez for his role in the killing of San Benito police Lieutenant Milton [...]