Former Maverick County Justice of the Peace Secretary arrested for theft by Texas Rangers

Texas Ranger Joe Sanchez

By: Miguel Munoz, Eagle Pass Business Journal, Inc., Copyright 2016

A former secretary of Maverick County Justice of the Peace Precinct No. 1, Rosa Alejandra Rodriguez, age 36, was arrested by Texas Rangers on Friday, December 9, 2016, for theft of property after a year long investigation by the Texas Rangers.

Rodriguez is charged with failing to deposit monies paid to the Maverick County Justice of the Peace Precinct 1 Office for fines, fees, or court costs by people making payments on their Justice of the Peace cases.  A Justice of the Peace Court is an official judicial office of the State of Texas in Maverick County.

Rodriguez is charged with a Second Degree Felony under the Texas Penal Code as a result of her being a public government employee.   Rodriguez faces up to 20 years in State Prison if convicted of the offense of theft of property, a fine of up to $10,000, and community supervision.

According to the investigation, Rodriguez failed to make certain deposits with the bank during a six months period, totaling between $30,000 to $150,000 in funds alleged to have been stolen from the Maverick County Justice of the Peace No. 1 Office.

After being arrested and magistrated by a Maverick County Justice of the Peace, Rodriguez was able to post a bond and gain conditional release.

This criminal case will be prosecuted by the 293rd Judicial District Attorney Roberto Serna and his staff in Maverick County District Court in the immediate future.

Although more than 40 individuals have been arrested and indicted in Maverick County for bribery and theft in public contracts awarded by Maverick County in recent years, the theft of public property in Maverick County continues as evidenced by the arrest of Rosa Alejandra Rodriguez, which seriously deteriorates the public’s confidence in local government.