Authorities stage raids on constable’s office, home
Vela has battled with other officials, been part of several scandals
State and federal authorities Monday raided the office and home of a Bexar County constable who this year was accused of forcing park visitors to pay her for providing unwanted security services and has been sued for alleged discrimination by two of her former deputies.
The morning searches by Texas Rangers and FBI agents were the latest public troubles for Precinct 2 Constable Michelle Barrientes Vela, who has been involved in several scandals and has clashed with other public officials, including District Attorney Joe Gonzales, Sheriff Javier Salazar and County Judge Nelson Wolff.
“It’s a joint investigation by Texas Rangers and the FBI,” said special agent Michelle Lee, media coordinator for the FBI in San Antonio. “To ensure the integrity of the investigation, that’s all the information we can provide.”
Lt. Jason Reyes of the Texas Department of Public Safety would not say what investigators were looking for in the raids. A state judge signed and sealed the search warrant. The Bexar County district attorney’s office declined to comment on the searches.
Two law enforcement sources said investigators were looking into allegations of irregularities by the constable and that the searches were meant to gather potential evidence that could help them determine what charges, if any, should be pursued.
Vela, 45, called the searches “a show” meant to cast her in a negative light. Two large FBI trucks were parked near the entrance to her West Side office as investigators retrieved documents from the office.
The constable said investigators also took her personal and county-issued cellphones.
“I don’t know why they are in my office today or what they are looking for,” she
said. “I can say we have done nothing illegal in this office. The only thing I have done is stand up for my community, and I will continue to do that. I’m going to continue to be vocal. I am not going to be part of the good ol’ boy system.”
FBI agents and Texas Rangers also raided her home off Eckhert at the same time as the office raid.
Vela claimed that the raid was spurred by a politically motivated conspiracy against her for her attempts to clean up the constable’s office, which she has overseen since 2017. She said it stems from her efforts to, among other things, discipline and prosecute former underlings.
She accused Gonzales, other prosecutors in his office, Salazar and Wolff of conspiring against her.
“They have asked over and over, different subpoenas they submit to me from Dawn McCraw from the district attorney’s office, just a bunch of stuff that they are asking for,” she said, holding at least one grand jury summons. “I have been cooperative; I have given them everything.”
She said that aside from the subpoenas, she had been “having a dialogue” with the Texas Rangers since after Easter about matters they’ve been investigating.
On Easter Sunday, Vela was accused of shaking down a family for cash at Rodriguez Park. The family alleged that Vela required them to pay her and a deputy constable $50 an hour for security — despite the availability of peace officers already funded by the county — after the family refused to vacate a picnic site to make way for Vela’s family.
Vela also has tried to pursue criminal charges against her one-time chief deputy, Leonicio Moreno, who has filed federal employment complaints against her and sued her for sex discrimination, claiming that she retaliated against him because he refused her alleged sexual advances in a hot tub during a 2017 work conference in Galveston. Vela has denied the allegation.
The district attorney has declined to prosecute Moreno, saying there’s no evidence to support the charges.
At an impromptu news conference Monday after the raids, Wolff, Salazar and County Commissioner Justin Rodriguez recounted a long list of confrontational comments and questionable actions by Vela, who was elected in November 2016. She intends to seek reelection next year; Moreno has said he plans to run against her.
In addition to her actions on Easter Sunday, the list included Vela’s attempt to bill the county $2,147 for new uniform patches heralding herself as the county’s first female constable and bearing her initials: “Making History 2017 / 1st Female M.B.V.”
But that milestone was achieved in 1941, when Anna Meeks was appointed to replace her husband, Precinct 1 Constable S.M. “Charlie” Meeks, who had died in office.
Shortly after the county refused to pay for the patches, Vela ticketed some deputy sheriff patrol vehicles, county officials said. The citations were dismissed.
In January, while her deputies provided security at the annual Cowboy Breakfast, a popular event held prior to the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo, she tried to eject Salazar from the grounds after the sheriff entered a VIP entrance, bypassing secured visitor entrances.
And this month, former deputy constable Chris De La Cerda filed a lawsuit in state District Court accusing Vela of retaliating against him and Moreno over the hot tub incident.
Vela has said De La Cerda was terminated for making false claims under the Family and Medical Leave Act and that Moreno was terminated for falsifying training records.
She also has criticized Gonzales, the DA, for not prosecuting the aggravated perjury charge against Moreno.
Salazar said Vela’s accusations of a conspiracy against her by himself, Wolff and Gonzales are “ugly.”
“There’s just no other way to say it,” he said. “That sort of stuff does bother us, and does hurt, but we have to make a distinction. As far as the Sheriff’s Office and this situation, we’re going to take care of business and make sure the public is protected.”
Wolff said the investigations are ongoing, “and they’re certainly not directed from anybody here on Commissioners Court.”
He said Vela is “going to have to review the things she’s done in the last year or two” instead of “trying to blame everybody else for her faults.”
Wolff called Vela a “wacko” this year and said Monday that “my attitude hasn’t changed.”
But he told reporters at a news conference that she remains a duly elected constable.
“At this point, no one’s been arrested, no one’s been indicted and no one’s been convicted,” Wolff said.
State law allows for removal of a county constable or other elected official for incompetency, official misconduct or intoxication on or off duty. Any county resident may file a petition for removal, but officials may be removed only after a jury trial.
The official duties of constables are to serve civil papers and provide bailiff support for justices of the peace in their respective precincts. It costs the county about $1.5 million a year to operate each of its four constable offices.
Like other elected constables, Vela earns a salary of nearly $94,000.
Constable Vela is “going to have to review the things she’s done in the last year or two.” Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff