State rep charged after losing baggies of cocaine at airport
AUSTIN — State Rep. Poncho Nevárez faces a drug charge after being caught on surveillance cameras at the Austin airport dropping a sealed envelope that contained four baggies of cocaine.
Nevárez, chairman of the House Homeland Security and Public Safety Committee, is charged with third-degree felony possession of a controlled substance, according to an arrest warrant filed Thursday by the Texas Department of Public Safety. The offense is punishable by up to 10 years in prison. Bail was set at $10,000.
The Democrat from Eagle Pass, who announced last week he wouldn’t seek re-election, said Thursday “the news is true” and that he plans to seek treatment.
“I do not have anyone to blame but myself,” Nevárez, 47, said in a statement. “In a weird way I am grateful. Grief and addiction were consuming me, but oddly enough, I feel better now than I have in a long time, and I mean that.”
Investigators filed a search warrant on Oct. 29 seeking a DNA sample from Nevárez to compare it with saliva on the envelope, marked with letterhead from Nevárez’s legislative office. Initial testing confirmed the baggies contained two grams of cocaine, court records show.
The envelope was found Sept. 6 by two Texas Department of Transportation employees outside the airport, the court records say. On surveillance video, Nevárez is seen dropping a white paper object as he climbs into the front passenger seat of a black SUV and leaves the airport, the records say.
Nevárez, a personal injury attorney, flew to Austin in a plane registered to his law firm and was picked up at the airport by his chief of staff.
The court records note that Nevárez, a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin, was wearing a burnt orange shirt as
“I do not have anyone to blame but myself. In a weird way I am grateful.” Rep. Poncho Nevárez, in a statement saying he plans to seek treatment
he arrived in Austin that Friday, ahead of the school’s football game against Louisiana State University.
It is unclear why it took two months for authorities to charge Nevárez; the public safety department would not explain the timing on Thursday.
An affidavit related to the case was posted online late Wednesday night by the conservative activist group Direct Action Texas.
The revelation comes about a week after Nevárez announced he was deactivating his office’s Facebook page, followed by a retirement announcement two days later.
Nevárez, first elected to the Texas House in 2012, made waves during his three terms. He pushed a Republican lawmaker during a heated exchange over immigration protests in the House gallery two years ago.
“What I did was wrong, but I’d do it again,” Nevárez said of the 2017 scuffle between himself and a North Texas Republican who threatened to call immigration authorities on people protesting a so-called sanctuary cities bill. The confrontation ended with threats and cursing.
Republican House Speaker Dennis Bonnen appointed Nevárez this year to lead the powerful committee that oversees the Texas-Mexico border and public safety.
Nevárez is also vice-chair of the House’s Mass Violence Prevention & Community Safety Select Committee, which was formed just a few months ago. It’s unclear whether he’ll retain the role going forward.
The Texas Democratic Party said in a statement Thursday that “addiction is a serious issue.”
“It’s important for people to access the help they need,” the statement read. “Rep. Nevárez is taking responsibility and seeking the help he needs. We wish the best to him and his family.”