Carlos Guadalupe Bautista (born 1989) and Sergio Enrique Navarro (born 2007) were arrested in Mission, Texas, after a smuggler caught at the Anzalduas International Bridge on Oct. 13 led agents to a stash house containing about 121 pounds of cocaine. During a traffic stop, agents found a duct‑tape‑wrapped brick hidden under the engine hood of the Cadillac and a white Dodge Charger, and both were taken into custody at the Mission residence.

Christopher Lee Soto pleaded guilty to the October 30, 2023 murder of 38‑year‑old Brittany Kay Ireland at the Acacia RV park in Alamo and was sentenced to 40 years in prison by District Judge Bobby Flores. The killing involved a bloody, silver serrated knife, and Soto had previously been found incompetent in July 2025, a status later restored for trial. The 40‑year term is the key penalty for the case.

On Monday, a jury sentenced 21‑year‑old Rogelio Martinez Jr. to death for the October 2023 shooting that killed San Benedict police Lieutenant Milton Resendez after a multi‑state chase that began on South Padre Island and ended in Brownsville. After nearly nine hours of deliberation over three days, jurors found Martinez guilty of murder, while co‑defendant Rodrigo Axel Espinosa Valdez had previously pleaded guilty to a lesser charge.

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.

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.

The City of Edinburg announced that Lieutenant Orlando Garcia will become the interim police chief after Chief Jaime Ayala retires on Oct. 30, with Garcia assuming the role on Oct. 31. Garcia, a native of Edinburg, has served with the department since 2001 and previously worked in Internal Affairs under Ayala. The city hired Strategic Government Resources to conduct a 90‑day search for a permanent chief.

Jose De La Cruz, 30, pleaded guilty to intoxication manslaughter and assault after a crash on FM 509 that killed 77‑year‑old Oralia Garza. The collision occurred at about 1:27 p.m. on Nov. 15, 2025, when De La Cruz’s Chevrolet Tahoe struck a semi‑truck and veered into Garza’s Hyundai. He received an 18‑year prison sentence on Oct. 19, and all three occupants were taken to Valley Baptist Medical Center, where Garza died the next day.

On Wednesday in Brownsville, jurors heard Victoria Ortiz, aunt of 21‑year‑old Rogelio Martinez, say she does not know the details of his conviction for killing San Benito police officer Lt. Milton Resendez and disagrees with the verdict. District Attorney Luis V. Saenz cross‑examined her, accusing her of dishonesty and asking why she never visited Martinez in jail, as prosecutors pursue the death penalty in the sentencing phase.

Juan Samuel Olguin of Alamo and Michael Anthony Lopez of Pharr, both 19, were indicted on Oct. 8 for the capital murder of 40‑year‑old Hervey Marin De Leon in a July 16 shooting outside an H‑E‑B parking lot in San Juan. Police said the victim’s brother drove him for a drug transaction, Lopez shot him in the backseat, and he was taken to South Texas Health System McAllen while the suspects were detained.

During the sentencing phase in Brownsville, opening arguments were presented in the trial of 21‑year‑old Rogelio Martinez, accused of shooting San Benito police Lt. Milton Resendez during a high‑speed chase that began on South Padre Island on Oct. 17, 2023. Prosecutors in Cameron County are seeking the death penalty, and a recent ceremony honored the fallen officer.

A man believed to be in his 40s was killed at about 11:21 a.m. Friday after being struck by a freight train in Lyford, according to Police Chief Marcos Garcia, who said the victim’s name is being withheld. The incident occurred on Hidalgo Street, with the body recovered near City Hall on Main Avenue; the search lasted roughly 20 minutes and no other people, cars or trucks were injured.

The Brownsville Independent School District said a student was found with a gun at Brownsville Early College High School, adjacent to Texas Southmost College, on Monday morning. The campus was placed on lockdown and the student was safely taken into custody, with the Brownsville Police Department leading the investigation. District officials thanked law‑enforcement agencies and urged parents to monitor students’ belongings.

Brownsville police reported that officers arrived at 9:10 p.m. on Tuesday night to a major crash on the 2300 block of Coffee Road involving a white Chevrolet Suburban and a gray Hyundai Elantra. The collision sent all four occupants to a local hospital, the Elantra driver, 24‑year‑old Daniel A. Morin, died, and Suburban driver Dania Martinez, 26, was arrested for intoxication manslaughter, given a $55,000 bond and charged with assault.

Brownsville police reported two fatal crashes over the weekend that killed three men. On Sunday at about 4:14 p.m., a Jeep Compass ran over 52‑year‑old bicyclist Jesse Nector Torres after he failed to stop at a stop sign on Olmito and Tulipan Streets. The previous day, a silver Chevrolet Tahoe suffered a medical emergency, collided with a Chevrolet Trax carrying 82‑year‑old Ricardo Guajardo Sr. and 47‑year‑old Jorge Arturo Guajardo, both of whom died.

The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed on Thursday the conviction and death sentence of 31‑year‑old Victor Godinez of Edinburg for the 2019 shooting of DPS Trooper Moises Sanchez. Godinez ran a red light after a drunk‑driving crash on April 6, 2019, fled, and then shot the trooper, who later died in a Houston hospital. For Rio Grande Valley residents, the ruling confirms the ultimate penalty for a local defendant.

Former Hidalgo County detention officer Luis Enrique Vega, 30, was charged Thursday with official oppression after an investigation showed he struck a handcuffed inmate’s face multiple times on Sept. 8 at about 8:30 p.m. in the Hidalgo County Detention Center. The sheriff’s office said Vega was placed on leave, terminated Monday, and released on a $2,500 bond.

A Cameron County jury spent three hours and 15 minutes Thursday finding 21‑year‑old Rogelio Martinez guilty of capital murder for the Oct. 17, 2023 shooting that killed San Benito police Lt. Milton Resendez, a 27‑year veteran, after a chase that began on South Padre Island. Mario Perea thanked District Attorney Luis V. Saenz, said justice was served, and noted prosecutors are seeking the death penalty; Martinez showed no emotion.

Jurors began deliberating at 11:10 a.m. Thursday in the capital‑murder trial of 21‑year‑old Rogelio Martinez, accused of fatally shooting San Benito police Lt. Milton Resendez on Oct. 17, 2023, after a chase from South Padre Island to Brownsville. Martinez has pleaded not guilty; prosecutors are seeking the death penalty, while his co‑defendant Espinosa Valdez previously pleaded guilty to a lesser murder charge.

Four men—Mario “Chencho” Alejandro Sanchez, Orlando Olaguer Rabadan, John Phuc Phan and Hector “Cuatro” Jesus Martinez Jr.—were arrested Monday for the murder of Eric Garcia, who was found with multiple stab wounds in a San Juan parking lot on North Veterans Boulevard Saturday around 2:21 a.m. Police noted a blood‑stained white Ford Expedition and a red Cadillac driven by Phan at the scene, and surveillance footage matched the suspects.

State and defense attorneys rested their cases Wednesday in the Rogelio Martinez death‑penalty trial after jurors viewed an interview in which the 21‑year‑old defendant admits to the Oct. 17, 2023 shooting that killed San Benito police Lt. Milton Resendez. Martinez tells Texas Ranger Patrick O’Connor he fired only to scare officers and protect children in the red GMC truck, while the chase spanned South Padre Island, Brownsville and San Benito.

Guadalupe Garcia Vela, a 32‑year‑old Mission resident, was acquitted on Tuesday of capital murder charges stemming from the Dec. 20, 2015 shooting that killed Yvette Garza and Nathalie Ingridh Hernandez. The case, which began with Palmview police responding to gunfire on Eastview Circle and included a mistrial after a July 2022 jury deadlock, ended with the jury finding Vela not guilty after a trial that started Sept. 23.