DONNA, Texas — Once again the school district in this border town is a source of controversy, with the latest chapter being the drug-related arrest of the son of the school police chief, who is believed to also be an employee at the school.
As Breitbart Texas previously reported, Donna ISD has been the battleground where two factions have been fighting for control of the school board, resulting in a series of scandals aimed at removing one of those factions and the superintendent.
This week, the board is preparing to hold a meeting to decide to future employment of the superintendent Jesus Rene Reyna – who, as previously reported by Breitbart Texas, has been the target of a political witch hunt that escalated intto a police investigation and arrest.
Donna ISD Police Chief Roy Padilla had been fired in the past by Reyna, but he was hired back by a new faction of the school board which was elected late last year. Since coming back on to the school district, Padilla appears to be working with the faction lead by school board president Albert Sandoval, which has opposed Reyna.
Since getting re-hired, Padilla kicked off an investigation into Reyna alleging that he superintendent was involved in insurance fraud since he was having the school board pay for the insurance for him and his family; The Monitor newspaper spoke with the Hidalgo County District Attorney who stated that he didn’t take Padilla’s case against Reyna because it lacked evidence.
After getting his case kicked back, Padilla carried out another investigation into Reyna and school board member Alfred Lugo, claiming the two had offered to bribe him at a McAllen restaurant, and had the two arrested, Breitbart Texas previously reported. The bribe claimed by Padilla was in fact a $400 gasoline reimbursement voucher.
The most recent chapter involves Padilla’s son Danny, who was arrested last week on drug charges. Hidalgo County Sheriff’s officials confirmed to Breitbart Texas that on June 5, they arrested Danny Padilla on misdemeanor drug charges. Breitbart Texas tried to confirm with Donna ISD if Danny Padilla was an employee at the school, but school officials didn’t respond.
The younger Padilla was pulled over by a sheriff’s deputy on that day, and a police K-9 tipped off deputies to the smell of narcotics, the information provided to Breitbart Texas revealed. Inside the vehicle, authorities found a small amount of marijuana and drug paraphernalia. Padilla was arrested on a class B misdemeanor drug charge and a class C misdemeanor paraphernalia charge; he has since bonded out of the Hidalgo County Jail.
The drug arrest of Padilla’s son brings a tint of irony since, prior to being the school police chief, Roy Padilla had been a longtime narcotics investigator with various government task forces. The Padilla name has also been the topic of national headlines since Roy Padilla’s brother Jose Padilla was a former commander with the Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Office, and is now serving a federal prison sentence for having taken money from a Mexican drug lord.
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