BROWNSVILLE, Texas (ValleyCentral) — Opening statements began Tuesday in the trial of Cristobal Stephan Garzez, the man accused of killing tow truck driver David Zapata in a July 2025 crash in Harlingen. A jury was selected Monday to hear the case. Prosecutors Michael Benton and lead attorney Jared Gover told jurors that Garzez’s actions “literally [...]

HARLINGEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) — Brownsville police say three children were hurt Wednesday morning when they were struck by a vehicle as they used a crosswalk on their way to school. Police said the auto-pedestrian crash occurred in the 5200 block of Southmost Boulevard near Southmost Elementary School. The students were transported to a local hospital [...]

HARLINGEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) — Authorities arrested a Mexican man and seized 20 bundles of cocaine at Brownsville's Veterans International Bridge last week. The bundles, which weighed about 46 pounds, were hidden in a 2005 International truck with a flatbed trailer. U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers say they found the drugs after the truck was [...]

HARLINGEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) — Valley International Airport (VIA) in Harlingen is giving the community advance notice of an emergency drill scheduled for Wednesday. According to the VIA, the emergency drill is coordinated with the Federal Aviation Administration. The drill is part of a routine full-scale airport emergency plan exercise held at least once every 36 [...]

HARLINGEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) — October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month, a time when advocates unite to raise awareness and highlight resources available to individuals affected by domestic violence. Domestic violence is not only physical abuse, but it can also be emotional, economic, psychological, or sexual abuse, as well. Texas Council on Family Violence 2025 Report [...]

HARLINGEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) — Opening statements began Tuesday in the jury trial for a man accused in the death of a tow truck driver in Harlingen last year. A jury was chosen on Monday for Cristobal Stephan Garzez, who is on trial for the death of tow truck driver David Zapata. RELATED: Jury selection underway [...]

BROWNSVILLE, Texas (ValleyCentral) — Rogelio Martinez Jr. has been sentenced to death for the 2023 killing of San Benito police Lt. Milton Resendez. A Cameron County jury reached its decision Monday after about 10 hours of deliberations over three days. Before announcing the sentence, 440th State District Judge Ricardo Adobbati told Martinez, “May God have [...]

HARLINGEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) -- It's that time of year again when the clocks move back an hour. Daylight Saving Time ends this weekend, Sunday, Nov. 1, meaning earlier sunsets and fewer daylight hours. While moving the clock back one hour may not seem drastic, the time change increases the risk for pedestrians. According to the [...]

McALLEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) — A man who deported migrants for the federal government was held without bond Monday after being charged with possession of child pornography. Edgar E. Guillen, 29, of Weslaco kept videos of a naked 12-year-old girl on his phone, according to a federal criminal complaint against him. “There is evidence of potential [...]

HARLINGEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) — Jury selection is underway for the trial of a man accused in the 2025 death of a tow truck driver in Harlingen. Jury selection began Monday morning in the 197th District Court for Cristobal Stephan Garzez, 29, who has been charged in connection with the death of tow truck driver David [...]

HARLINGEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) — An Edinburg man was killed and another man was injured after a tire blowout caused a rollover crash on U.S. 281 north of Premont Friday afternoon, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety. DPS identified the man as Arturo Ponce, 65, of Edinburg. At approximately 3:09 p.m. Friday, a 1999 [...]

HARLINGEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) — Rogelio Martinez Jr., the man who has been convicted of the 2023 murder of San Benito Police Lt. Milton Resendez, has been sentenced to death, a judge ruled Monday morning. Just moments ago, the jury returned the punishment. Martinez gunned down Lieutenant Milton Resendez three years ago at a busy San [...]

HARLINGEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) -- Ramon Ayala Jr., the son of Tejano music legend Ramon Ayala Sr., was booked into jail and charged with sexual assault on Friday in Hidalgo County, jail records show. Ayala Jr.'s arrest is followed by a string of lawsuits filed earlier this year by former band members accusing Ayala Jr. of [...]

HARLINGEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) — The Brownsville Police Department is searching for a missing man with dementia last seen Friday morning. Mario Alberto Soto, 76, was last seen at about 9 a.m. at his home located on the 1800 block of Palm Blvd. His family told police that Soto is deaf, nonverbal and has dementia. He [...]

HARLINGEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) — Jury deliberations resumed Friday in the sentencing phase for Rogelio Martinez, the man convicted of murdering San Benito police Lt. Milton Resendez during a 2023 police chase. The jury began deliberating on Thursday afternoon on whether Martinez will live or die for killing the officer. After nearby three hours the judge [...]

HARLINGEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) — A Pharr man will spend 40 years in prison after being convicted of sexually abusing two children between the ages of 6 and 12, Hidalgo County District Attorney Torbio "Terry" Palacios announced Friday. Martin Hernandez Alvarado, 61, was found guilty of continuous sexual abuse of a child and indecency with a [...]

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 [...]

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, [...]

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 [...]

HARLINGEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) -- Two children and one adult were sent to the hospital on Wednesday evening after a shoulder lane crash on the expressway in Edinburg. The crash occurred on the 4200 block of the southbound lanes of Interstate Highway 69-C. A preliminary report from the Edinburg Police Department indicates that a tractor-trailer crashed [...]

HARLINGEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) — Criminal complaints obtained by ValleyCentral detail the events that occurred when a 44-year-old man was stabbed to death at a parking lot in San Juan earlier this month. Four men have been charged with murder for their alleged involvement in the stabbing death of Eric Garcia, including 33-year-old John Phuc Phan [...]

HARLINGEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) — Two men have been indicted on capital murder charges in connection with a deadly drug deal at an H-E-B parking lot in San Juan over the summer. Michael Anthony Lopez, 18, and Juan Samuel Olguín, 19, were arrested in July in connection with the shooting that killed 40-year-old Hervey Marin De [...]

McALLEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) — The businessman who owns McAllen Gold & Silver laundered money for an illegal gambling ring, according to federal prosecutors. Patrick Curry, 46, of McAllen accepted more than $750,000 for “Individual A” from 2021 to 2024, according to a federal criminal complaint against him. After he received the money, McAllen Gold & [...]