Samuel Navarro, off to the hoosegow

Piggybank Heist. On Friday, July 1, Alice police officers arrested a man for stealing ten dollars from a child’s piggybank. Daniel Zurovec was part of a work crew installing screens at a residence. Two juveniles saw him open a window and take money out of a piggybank. They pointed out Zurovec to an adult, who then called the police. At first, Zurovec denied stealing the money, though he later confessed and turned the ten dollars over to police.

Some Breadwinner. Samuel Navarro planned to marry his fiancé on June 21, but he landed in jail instead. At 4:00 p.m., two hours before Navarro’s wedding, Jim Wells County sheriffs arrested him on charges of credit card fraud. Lieutenant Carlos Araujo told the Alice Echo News Journal, “We have been working on this for a week and following a paper trail to obtain information from the merchants.” The card number, which belonged to Forbes Energy Services, was used to buy, among other things, a $1000 wedding dress, a tuxedo, and wedding invitations. Navarro’s bond was set at $80,000.

Ewww...You Got a Smoke! Officials caught a man attempting to smuggle cigarettes and marijuana into Duval County jail in late May. Ruben Lara, Jr., 24, reported for one of three weekends in jail, to which he’d been assigned by the court for a misdemeanor charge. During a routine strip-search, jailers found three Marlboro cigarettes and a baggie of marijuana. As a result of his alleged smuggling attempt, Lara has now been charged with a felony.

Beer Busted. A Wednesday-evening beer run led to the arrest of Jose Luis Cantu on July 6. A witness told police officers that he saw Cantu leave the Texas Star convenience store with two cases of Bud Light and head toward a nearby highway motel. Officers located Cantu and both cases of beer and discovered a warrant for Cantu’s arrest in Jim Wells County. According to the report, Cantu “started to become hostile” and made threats of retaliation against officers, including, “I’m gonna kill you all,” and “I’m gonna put a hit on you.” Along with the warrant, Cantu was also jailed on charges of theft under $50, resisting arrest, and retaliation.