Fictitious addresses on arcade applications

Some residential addresses that were provided to the city in order to obtain occupancy permits for gaming arcades on a commercial property along Paredes Line Road are fictitious, the Brownsville Police Department confirmed Friday.

The most recent arcade at 620 Paredes Line Road was called the Cherry Arcade, which police shut down following the Sept. 21 botched robbery by

City public records listed an Ignacio Guerrero of 2404 Denny’s St. in Brownsville as the owner of the arcade and issued an occupancy permit for the arcade on Sept. 9.

City records show that prior to Guerrero, the city listed a Rafael Mireles of 751 Sancho Pancha in Brownsville as the owner of an arcade, also called Cherry Arcade, at the Paredes Line Road address. The permit was issued May 21.

Neither a Denny’s Street nor Sancho Pancha Street could be located on city maps. In addition, the men listed at those addresses could not be reached for comment.

a 15-year-old boy and a 19-year-old man — both shot by a guard providing security at the arcade.

"Based on our investigations, we believe the (personal) addresses to be fictitious," Lt. James Paschall said.

"The case is still open," said Paschall, noting that police investigations into the arcades continue.

Since September’s botched robbery, no one has requested an occupancy permit for an arcade at 620 Paredes Line Road, city assistant permitting director Leonel Garza said.

In a recent interview, city permitting director Evaristo Gamez said that his office does not verify the personal identification of persons seeking arcade occupancy permits, unless the requestors pay required fees with a check.

And as the police department continues its inquiries into the gaming operations, Cameron County District Attorney Armando Villalobos’ office is conducting an investigation into September’s robbery attempt.

Both suspects survived.

DA spokesman Jason E. Moody noted in a recent statement to The Brownsville Herald that the police department has transferred the attempted robbery case to the DA’s office for review.

Moody said that the juvenile involved in the robbery attempt was placed on probation.

"This case is still an ongoing pending criminal investigation and we cannot comment any further at this time," Moody said.

The status of the 19-year-old suspect could not be immediately ascertained.

Villalobos recently said that the state could seek the forfeiture of the property on Paredes Line Road (in a civil proceeding). "The civil case is still pending, as well," Moody said.