Wrong Address

Five Precinct 1 constable candidates have been notified that they do not meet the residency requirements for the job.

Candidates Luis Guevara, Albert Garza, David Martinez, Frank Robles Jr. and Mike Barbarena were asked about their residency status and four of them acknowledged they don't live within the precinct, County Judge Carlos H. Cascos said.

Because they do not reside in Precinct 1, they do not meet the necessary requirements for the position, Cascos said.

According to the state constitution, the constable candidates must have lived in Texas for a year and resided in the Precinct 1 area for six months.

Barbarena is the only one of the five who contested the residency issue and will be allowed to interview with the four other candidates who met the qualifications, Cascos said.

Barbarena said he lives in the Port Isabel area, which is Precinct 1. County officials will likely ask him why he voted in the Los Fresnos precinct during the elections, Cascos said.

"That's a legitimate question," Cascos said.

Barbarena once served as Precinct 1 constable. He, along with qualifying candidates Richard E. Moore, Horazio A. Zamora, Silverio Cisneros Jr., Robert Mora and Salvador Tinajero Jr., will be interviewed Thursday during a special meeting of commissioners court.

Precinct 1 covers the Laguna Madre area as well as a small portion of Brownsville.

The post became vacant after Constable Jose "Joe" Maldonado Jr. resigned from the position on Jan. 2. Maldonado agreed to resign from the post in exchange for no criminal charges filed against him, which included deadly conduct and public intoxication.

Maldonado was accused of letting a friend fire his county-issued handgun on Nov. 15. According to police, Maldonado appeared to be intoxicated at the time of the incident.

Maldonado was initially appointed to the position in November to fulfill the term of Constable Saul P. Ochoa, who automatically surrendered the seat following his September conviction on federal drug charges.

Ochoa is currently serving a 57-month prison term.