San Juan police bust panhandlers lying about cancer-stricken daughter

SAN JUAN — Police arrested a panhandling couple Sunday who said they had been trying to raise money for their cancer-stricken daughter.

The arrests came after David and Lisa Brown admitted their daughter does not have cancer and they were using the story to raise money to support their cocaine habit.

A San Juan patrol officer came upon a woman arguing with the couple about 6 p.m. Sunday on the 800 block of North Nebraska Avenue.

The woman was yelling at the couple that they were lying about their supposedly cancer-stricken child. The officer questioned the Browns, who confessed they made up the story and were funding their drug habit with the cash they got from handouts.

David Brown, 44, was arrested and sent to the Hidalgo County Jail after police learned he had an arrest warrant from Austin on a parole violation for larceny and theft, San Juan Police Chief Juan Gonzalez said.

Officers found several syringes in 41-year-old Lisa Brown’s purse and arrested her on a misdemeanor charge of possession of drug paraphernalia. She was arraigned in San Juan Municipal Court and released, police said.

"They’re drug addicts," Gonzalez said. "They’re going to make up everything they can and try to feed their habit."

A woman who knows the couple told police they had been panhandling around the McAllen area for at least two weeks, the chief said.

Police confirmed Lisa Brown has a daughter who lives with the woman’s ex-husband in the Corpus Christi area. The daughter does not have cancer.

"These people have no remorse," Gonzalez said.