Romeo Lomas Kleberg County Precinct 4 Commissioner Romeo Lomas posted a $1,000 bond after surrendering to law enforcement authorities following his indictment Wednesday by the Kleberg Grand Jury on a misdemeanor charge of Abuse of Official Capacity under Chapter 39.02 of the Texas Penal Code.

Commissioner Lomas, serving his 31st year in office, will be formally arraigned at 1 p.m. on Nov. 12 in 105th District Court at the Kleberg County Courthouse.

The indictment of Lomas has prompted several other legal steps in anticipation of a trial here.

Judge J. Manuel Banales, presiding judge of the 105th District Court here, is recused from hearing the case. He will be replaced by Judge Rose Reyna of the 206th District Court in Hidalgo County, who will travel to Kingsville to hear the case when it goes to trial.

As the lone presiding district judge in Kleberg County, Judge Banales has oversight authority for the actions of the Kleberg County Commissioners Court.

Klebeg-Kenedy County District Attorney John Hubert also recused himself from any involvement in the investigation and prosecution of Lomas because of his relationship with the Kleberg County Commissioners Court.

The case was investigated by the Texas Attorney General’s Office, and Assistant Attorney General Shane At-

(See Lomas, Page 8A) taway of Austin will prosecute the case once it goes to trial.

Local attorney Frank Alvarez is representing Commissioner Lomas.

Specifically, Lomas is charged with knowingly misusing government property, services or personnel on or about March 2 of this year.

The commissioner’s old barbershop business was being demolished that day, but Lomas said in a recent interview that he hired a private contractor to demolish the building, hired another contractor to haul the building debris off, and paid $746 in fees to dispose the demolished building at the City of Kingsville landfill.

Lomas, who testified before the grand jury on Oct. 23, said he has done nothing wrong and also said the accusations motivated by politics.

“They can’t get me at the polls, so they’re going after me this way,” he said.

Chapter 39 of the Texas Penal Code defines Abuse of Office and notes that “misuse” means to deal with property contrary to an agreement under which the public servant holds the property; contrary to a contract of employment or oath of office of a public servant; contrary to a law, including provisions of the General Appropriations Act specifically relating to government property, that prescribes the manner of custody or disposition of the property; or contrary to a limited purpose for which the property is delivered or received.

A provision of the penal code also notes that with the consent of the appropriate local county or district attorney, the attorney general has concurrent jurisdiction with that consenting local prosecutor to prosecute an offense under Chapter 39 of the penal code.

Under Section 39.02, Abuse of Official Capacity occurs when a public servant commits an offense if, with intent to obtain a benefit or with intent to harm or defraud another, he intentionally or knowingly violates a law relating to the public servant’s office or employment, or misuses government property, services, personnel, or any other thing of value belonging to the government that has come into the public servant’s custody or possession by virtue of the public servant’s office or employment.

The crime can range from a misdemeanor to a felony depending upon the severity of the abuse or value of the misused property.

The law also notes that a discount or award given for travel, such as frequent flyer miles, rental car or hotel discounts, or food coupons, are not things of value belonging to the government for purposes of Section 39.02 due to the administrative difficulty and cost involved in recapturing the discount or award for a governmental entity.