Instructor free on bond after arrest

A Brownsville school district drill instructor who was arrested Friday on charges of having an inappropriate relationship with a student was released from a Cameron County Jail Saturday after posting bond.

Ramon Francisco Garza, 25, was arraigned Saturday morning by Brownsville Municipal Judge Rene DeCoss, who set his bond at $25,000, according to staff at the city jail.

Shortly before noon, he was transferred to the Carrizalez-Rucker Detention Center in Olmito, where he was released later that day after posting bond, Sheriff Omar Lucio said.

Garza was arrested Friday by Brownsville police detectives on one count of having an inappropriate relationship between an educator and a student, a second-degree felony, Brownsville police spokesman Eddie Garcia said. If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in prison and up to $10,000 in fines.

The female is a 15-year-old student at the Brownsville Academic Learning Center, where he is a sergeant, according to authorities.

Garza was placed on administrative leave with pay Tuesday, pending an ongoing investigation into inappropriate professional conduct, said Drue Brown, the district’s spokeswoman.