Investigation continues in jail sweep

The Cameron County Sheriff’s Department continues an investigation into allegations of a gang conflict that led to a weekend search at the Carrizalez-Rucker Detention Center in Olmito.

On Saturday evening, members of the department’s Emergency Response Team conducted a six-hour search of the pod that houses members of the Valluco prison gang, said Sheriff Omar Lucio. The tactical team was looking for a gun inside the jail.

The deputies were acting on intelligence that warned of the possibility of a gun inside the jail and that it was to be used for an assassination inside the facility. A gun wasn’t found.

"They had information that someone had brought in a gun into the premises," Lucio said. "There was an individual there that wanted to get revenge on another inmate."

The identities of the inmates involved in the case were not released pending further investigation; however, Lucio said they are both members of the Valluco prison gang and the retaliation was related to gangs.

"Once we got that information we were concerned about the safety of the detention pod and of the detention center in general, he said. "This became an issue of extreme urgency because someone with a gun inside the jail could try to get out or take someone hostage."

In response to the potential danger, the sheriff called his tactical team to move into the jail and conduct a full sweep of the detention pod, the sheriff said.

"In a situation like this we do a complete search," Lucio said. "It’s a slow process, a very meticulous process and a very detailed process because we look inside every corner where they could hide a weapon. Sometimes they can take the weapon apart and hide it in different places, so we took our time to make sure that the gun wasn’t there."

The sheriff’s deputies did find some small pieces of glass that could be used as a cutting weapon.