Tuesday, January 24,1989
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,awmaker’s proposal draws fire from officials
HOUSTON (AP) — Federal pros
ecutors are questioning a state rep
resentative’s motive in draf ting legis
lation to authorize cutting off
convicted drug dealers’ fingers since
the legislator recently sought proba
tion for a convicted drug dealer.
Rep. A1 Edwards, D-Houston, an
nounced Saturday he was drafting
legislation to cut off the tip of the
little finger of a person convicted for
the first time of drug dealing or pos
session of a large amount of drugs.
Yet Edwards wrote to U.S. District
Judge David Hittner asking for le
niency when sentencing Martha
larie Preston.
Prosecutors contended Preston
and co-defendant Johnny Binder
vere drug kingpins who got rich
belling crack and powder cocaine.
They said Preston owned Five crack
nouses in Houston and used other
[people as pawns in her criminal ac-
Itivities.
Despite Edwards’ attempt to keep
Preston out of jail, Hittner gave her
a 40-year prison term and a
$200,000 Fine Jan. 13. The judge
also ordered her to serve six years on
parole after she is released from
prison.
Jesse Rodriguez, an assistant U.S.
attorney who was one of the pros
ecutors in Preston’s case, said he had
seen Edwards’ letter. The letter, he
said, was cited in court by Assistant
U.S. Attorney Mel Pechacek before
Preston was sentenced.
“It certainly makes me question
what his true motives are in either
case,’’ Rodriguez said Sunday about
Edwards’ letter and his plan to maim
drug dealers.
“Politicans that write letters on be
half of drug dealers — maybe we
ought to cut something off other
than their Fingers,” Pechacek told
the Houston Post Sunday night.
“There can’t be a double standard
for politicians’ friends and people
who aren’t their friends,” he said. “If
they don’t know them, they’re ready
to cut off a finger. If they do know
them, they’re ready to write letters
and do everything they can to get a
lighter sentence.”
Edwards said Sunday that he
wrote the letter asking that Preston
receive probation because prosecu
tors had painted her as the “king
pin” with primary responsibility for
putting drugs on Houston’s streets,
and he believed she was just a scape
goat.
Edwards said if Preston did deal
drugs she ought to be punished un
der his proposed law “like anyone
else.”
If Edwards’ bill were law and Pre
ston had been convicted in state
court, she could have lost the tips of
her smallest Finger.
•fficer injured in car chase
iver Mexico-Texas waterway
EL PASO (AP) — Two burglars
[fired several shotgun blasts at pursu-
[ing police and smashed through a
[roadblock at an international bridge,
[pinning one policeman between a
[squad car and guardrail, officials
Isaid.
Municipal police in Ciudad Jua-
[rez, Mexico, said they arrested the
[men without incident minutes after
[the suspects sped across the bridge
[Sunday night.
El Paso officer Richard Gonzales
vas treated and released for a knee
linjury after the burglars burst
[through the roadblock and knocked
police car into him, police said. No
jther injuries were reported.
Mexican police identified the sus-
ects they arrested as Maximino Ar-
[mendariz Gallegos, 32, and Fran-
usco Armendariz Gallegos, 31, both
[of El Paso. The men are believed to
be brothers.
The chase began about 7:30 p.m.
vhen police surprised two men bur-
vhrizing a vacuum-c)f*aner repair
shop in northeast El Paso, police Lt.
Tom Naubert said.
“They fired at officers four or five
times with a shotgun, but no one was
hit,” he said.
He said police in the two pursuing
cars didn’t return fire, but U.S. Cus
toms agents at the bridge shot at
their vehicle after it burst through
the police roadblock.
Juarez municipal police said they
stopped the car about 100 yards in
side the customs booths and arrested
the men. They said they didn’t find a
weapon, and El Paso police said they
would search the chase route for the
shotgun.
Juarez police said they did find
some vacuum cleaners in the car’s
trunk.
Vacuum cleaners and other appli
ances of dubious origin are readily
available from numerous sidewalk
vendors in a rough Juarez neighbor
hood called La Chavena.
If the suspects are returned to the
United States, they will be charged
Scrambled Eggs
UMENT
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HOW WAS I £>Um?5£P -TO KNOW
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farped
with attempted capital murder, ag
gravated assault and burglary, said
El Paso police Lt. J.R. Grijalva.
Juarez police said they were
checking to see whether the men are
Mexican citizens. If they are, they
could be charged with committing a
crime in another country and tried
for that before being returned to the
United States.
If the men are not Mexican citi
zens, they probably will be deported
to the United States to face charges,
Juarez police said.
DA claims
police burden
Houston office
HOUSTON (AP) —The Houston
Police Department diverts an unac
ceptable number of uninvestigated
criminal cases to the district attor
ney’s office, creating inconvenience
and frustration for citizens, District
Attorney John B. Holmes Jr. said.
The problem, apparently caused
by lack of police manpower, means
victims of crime in Houston some
times are left with the responsibility
of gathering witness information
themselves, even in the case of as
saults, records indicate.
“If you don’t die, you’re going to
have to investigate it when you get
out of the hospital yourself, because
all they (Houston police) do is go to
the hospital and say, ‘Hey, you want
to file charges, go to the DA,’”
Holmes said.
Holmes said police continue to
refer many uninvestigated criminal
cases to his staff even though his job
is to prosecute and not investigate.
Houston Police spokesman J.C.
Mosier said Monday that he could
not readily respond to Holmes’ alle
gations.
But a high-ranking police official
who asked not to be named told the
Houston Chronicle, “The criminal
investigation bureau apparently
does not have enough personnel to
handle the caseload. Then patrol is
going to tell you that we can’t afford
to give them (criminal investigation)
more personnel because we don’t
have enough personnel to run the
calls that we have.”
by Scott McCullar
■IWaldo
by Kevin Thomas
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