Security wall construction begins at courthouse

Work is under way on the construction of a security wall that will surround a parking lot used by Cameron County state district judges and the district attorney.

County workers on Monday used a backhoe to break up the concrete in the parking lot at the Cameron County Courthouse on Harrison Street as they readied it for rebar.

The construction will take from 60 to 90 days depending on the weather, said County Administrator Pete Sepulveda Jr. Although the estimated cost of the wall is $240,000, Sepulveda anticipates it will be “much less than that” because the work is being done in house.

State District Judge Leonel Alejandro approached county commissioners in December asking commissioners court to approve the wall because the judges are seeing an increase in gang-related activity and cited a court sentencing case that involved a Texas Syndicate gang member convicted of murder.

“We obtained information that they (gang members) had been surveying the courthouse,”Alejandro told the court in December.

The sheriff’s department had also received reports that individuals might try to free the Texas Syndicate gang member and the court agreed to fund the wall.

The 12-foot concrete barrier will be made of concrete blocks and will have an electronic gate entrance to it that only the judges and the district attorney will have access to.

There will be additional parking places for the district and county clerks who will have access as well.