FRIO COUNTY, Texas – Six suspects, including the Frio County judge and two Pearsall City Council members, are facing charges of vote harvesting and tampering with evidence, according to the Frio County Sheriff’s Office.
Frio County Sheriff Pedro Salinas told KSAT that the Frio County District Attorney’s Office received indictments on Thursday after an investigation by the Texas Office of the Attorney General. Arrest warrants were executed on Friday.
Frio County sheriff’s deputies arrested the following suspects:
- Pearsall City Council member Ramiro Trevino on one count of vote harvesting
- Pearsall Independent School District board member Adriann Ramirez on three counts of vote harvesting
- Former Frio County Elections Administrator Carlos Segura on one count of tampering with evidence
- Pearsall City Council member Racheal Garza on one count of vote harvesting
- Rosa Rodriguez, who the Frio County Sheriff’s Office described as a campaign worker, on two counts of vote harvesting
The sheriff’s office said Frio County Judge Rochelle Lozano Camacho has not been arrested yet. However, she faces three counts of vote harvesting, deputies said.
The vote harvesting and tampering with evidence charges are third-degree felonies.
Vote harvesting, or ballot gathering, is when a voter completes an absentee ballot, places it in a sealed, signed envelope, and has another person deliver it to a polling location or election office.
The City of Pearsall provided the following statement to KSAT on Saturday:
“The City of Pearsall is aware of indictments recently received by the 81st Judicial District Attorney from an investigation conducted by the Texas Office of Attorney General.
“Due to the sensitivity of this matter and in our efforts to not interfere with any existing or ongoing investigations, the City has no comment at this time.”
KSAT has reached out to the Texas Attorney General’s office for details about their investigation, but the agency has not responded. We also reached out to Frio County and Pearsall ISD but have not heard back.
This is a developing story. KSAT will update you once more information becomes available.
