An investigation by the Associated Press into the San Jacinto County Sheriff’s Office following a mass shooting in April has allegedly revealed a history of “corruption and dysfunction.”
Earlier this year, Francisco Oropeza allegedly shot and killed five people outside of Houston after his neighbors confronted him about shooting guns in his front yard late at night, as previously reported by The Dallas Express.
Sheriff Greg Capers of the San Jacinto County Sheriff’s Office (SJCSO) claimed deputies had arrived at the scene 11 minutes after a call was received. However, an investigation conducted by the Associated Press resulted in the sheriff’s office disclosing that it actually took almost four times as long as Capers had stated for deputies to arrive.
Chief Deputy Tim Kean characterized Capers’ comment as his “best guestimation,” noting the time of arrival by the deputies was “average” due to the rough roads and county size, per AP News.
The AP investigation also found that deputies had been called to Oropeza’s home at least three times in the last two years, including a call from last June when he allegedly “pounded” his wife’s head on the “driveway gravel” and threatened to kill her. Reportedly, deputies took 46 minutes to arrive at the scene, and Oropeza had already fled.
Despite the incident, the SJCSO did not evaluate the immigration status of Orozepa, which would have indicated that he had been deported four times before 2016 and was in the country unlawfully.
Kean said the sheriff’s office did not check his immigration status because they cannot do it themselves and have found U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to be unresponsive.
AP’s investigation found more troubling incidents.
In 2020, the county paid $240,000 to settle a lawsuit brought by a whistleblower. Michael Flynt accused Capers of retaliating after he had raised concerns about Capers’ conduct. Kean claimed the county chose to settle because it wanted to avoid an expensive trial.
Former deputies from the SJCSO reportedly said the office has been neglecting basic police work for years and instead focusing on asset seizures in an attempt to boost the office’s budget, the AP reported.
Rickie Wood, 68, had more than 25 vehicles, along with other items, seized during a gambling case handled by the SJCSO.
“They took everything that I owned to where I couldn’t even operate my business,” said Wood, per the AP. “It was devastating.”
The charges were eventually dropped, but Wood claimed many of the items that he got back from the sheriff’s office were badly damaged. Other things were allegedly missing, and he was purportedly unable to retrieve them.
Kean said he was unaware of any seized items being broken or lost.
Michael Voytko spent almost five years working as a San Jacinto County deputy. He asserted there are no restrictions on the SJCSO.
“The sheriff and his inner circle do whatever they want, regardless of law, with no consequence,” said Voytko, per the AP. “There was no accountability there for any of the deputies.”
Last year, county commissioners spent almost $50,000 to have the LION Institute, a police consulting firm, evaluate the sheriff’s office. The firm’s report, obtained by the AP, alleges that deputies from the office have failed to follow up on roughly 4,000 crime reports, including 106 alleged sexual assaults.
Mike Alexander, LION CEO, reportedly attempted to explain the findings to the county’s commissioners in an August meeting, but Sheriff Capers chose to attend the meeting as well. Following the meeting, Alexander called Capers’ presence “analogous to allowing a possible organized crime suspect to be present during a briefing between the investigating detective and prosecuting attorney.”
Kean responded to the LION report by saying they were “straight-up lies” developed by political opponents.