Alton police chief charged with sexual assaults

ALTON — Alton Police Chief Jose Luis Vela was suspended Thursday after authorities charged the 10-year veteran with two counts of sexual assault against male employees.

City Manager Jorge Arcaute suspended the chief with pay Thursday afternoon, placing Lt. Eric Hernandez in charge of the department. Vela remained in Hidalgo County Jail late Thursday on a $200,000 bond.

Investigators have accused Vela of performing oral sex on a male employee after the man passed out drunk at a party about a year ago, court documents show. Vela also faces charges of violating a different male employee with an object while that man was passed out at a party in July, said Hidalgo County Sheriff Lupe Treviño.

Both parties allegedly happened at the chief’s home on the 4300 block of La Homa Road in Mission.

Treviño withheld the alleged victims’ names, ages and positions within the department, saying he did not want to reveal their identities. He would not specify whether the victims worked as officers or dispatchers for the 18-employee department.

Neither Treviño nor Alton city officials knew whether Vela, 42, was married, but they did say he lives alone.

The Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Office plans to interview every employee of Alton’s police and fire departments. Treviño said the investigation will continue as long as necessary and future arrests are possible.

City Hall shocked by charges

Alton City Manager Arcaute got the news about Vela’s arrest about 4 p.m. Thursday when he received a call from the Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Office.

Less than an hour later, the police chief was taken out of City Hall in shackles and investigators swarmed through the building.

As Vela awaits trial for the pair of felonies, city staff must move past shock and continue to serve the city’s residents, Arcaute said.

“This will reflect poorly on us,” Arcaute said. “The challenge for us is to keep doing a good job and work harder. We’re up to the challenge.”

In one of his first duties as acting police chief, Lt. Hernandez met with department employees Thursday evening to explain the situation, city officials said.

Hernandez will serve as chief until Vela goes to trial, Arcaute said. The city manager said he will decide whether to remove Vela permanently after the police chief is tried.

Meanwhile, further scandal may already be brewing for the Police Department.

On the sheriff’s recommendation, Arcaute has ordered an investigation into whether Vela or other employees tampered with evidence.

Treviño said deputies had reason to believe booze and drug paraphernalia had been removed from the evidence locker and used at the alleged parties where the sexual assaults are said to have happened.

He would not rule out the possibility of future arrests.

‘Bizarre and off track’

The Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Office began investigating the sexual assault allegations last week.

A friend of one of the victims told deputies about the alleged assault from last year.

The victim himself hesitated to report it because of his employment situation and feelings of embarrassment, Treviño said.

Sheriff’s deputies began interviewing department employees and found another man who also said Vela had assaulted him.

Investigators took their findings to a judge, who signed a warrant for Vela’s arrest and ordered a search of his home and office.

Vela went peaceably when taken into custody at City Hall and remains segregated from other inmates, a standard practice when incarcerating law enforcement officials.

The police chief said little at his arraignment and told the judge he would need a court-appointed attorney.

As he was led out of the courtroom, Vela denied the charges were true and said he did not who his accusers were.

If convicted of the charges, Vela will no longer be allowed to work as a peace officer in Texas.

Treviño called the case “bizarre and off track.”

“This is the first time I’ve ever heard of a chief of a police arrested for sexually assaulting his employees,” the sheriff said.