Year-in-Review: Ten stories that made headlines in Corpus Christi in 2022
An attorney arrested for human smuggling, the largest liquid fentanyl bust in the nation and Harbor Bridge woes-- here are the 10 most clicked stories of 2022.
3NEWS
From an attorney being arrested for human smuggling to the largest liquid fentanyl bust in the nation and Harbor Bridge woes-- here are our top 10 stories of 2022.
From an attorney being arrested for human smuggling to the largest liquid fentanyl bust in the nation and Harbor Bridge woes-- here are our top 10 stories of 2022.
#10 Woman tries to corral cat on busy causeway
On July 26, the Corpus Christi Police Department responded to the Highway 181 causeway for reports of a driver trying to corral a cat on the busy road.
The cat was found by an officer in the wheel well of a pulled-over car and tried to grab it, but CCPD said the cat bit the officer who was trying to help. The cat then jumped off the ledge of the causeway and said officers saw it swim away.
Despite using drones and a boat, the department couldn't find the cat afterwards. The officer who was bitten by the cat was taken to a local hospital and received a total of seven shots for rabies prevention, as the cat appeared to be diseased and feral.
CCPD said that they understand why people would want to intervene, but stopping highway traffic can be dangerous for officers and everyone involved.
#9 Missing Corpus Christi woman was actually evading arrest in South America
A Corpus Christi native who was reported missing from her home in La Porte, Texas was found alive in August after almost a year.
Turns out all this time, authorities said the mom who disappeared from her family, children, her life, was actually on the run from the law.
The disappearance of Josefa Vela sparked messages of prayers for her safe return. The last time anyone saw her was when she was driving away from her home in La Porte back in September of 2021.
Law officials there even put out a plea for the public to help find the then 36-year-old mother of five.
Carlos Marrero is with the U.S. Marshals based out of Corpus Christi. He said that Vela, at the time, was out on bond for an underlying drug offense.
"An arrest warrant was issued to arrest her for bond violations and that is where we came in to track where she was," Marrero said.
Marrero was part of a team made up of different branches of the U.S. Marshals that worked eight long months to locate Vela, who headed south across the border.
"As soon as we started our investigation, we noticed that she was moving, going from country to county," Marrero said.
On June 13, 285 days since she was reported missing and some 2,400 miles away from her home in La Porte, Vela was discovered in Ecuador, South America.
"Most people especially in the southern district of Texas believe that when they leave the country they will be safe and they don't understand we have agreements with other countries to track their whereabouts and arrest them," Marrero said.
He credited law enforcement teamwork both on the local and international scale to get her under arrest. Vela is now awaiting her extradition back to the U.S. where she will face her parole violation on top of her original charge.
#8 Corpus Christi teen hospitalized after dangerous social media trend
In January 2022, 17-year-old Antrevon Bolden snuck out of his house and went "joyriding" with his friends, he family said. He ended up trying to "car surf."
"He was on the very top of the car," Tricia Stallion, the teen's grandmother, said. "The person that was driving -- I don't know who was driving -- smashed the gas, turned and he flew off."
The dangerous activity is making rounds on social media as teens film it.
She said the accident happened off of West Point Road near Greenwood Drive and not far from her home.
"Instead of taking him to the hospital, they brought him to me," Stallion said. "I did his vitals. He wasn't breathing, so I started CPR, also a difficult thing."
According to Stallion, part of Bolden's skull had to be removed and he is still unable to speak. As Bolden's progress continues to improve, Stallion credits the doctors and other health officials.
"Kids are unpredictable, but they are also precious," Stallion said. "And what we are going through is very hard. I'm going through this with the strength of God."
Stallion hopes that by speaking out about what happened to her grandson, she can help save another family from going through the same kind of pain and heartache she is currently experiencing.
"I'm very involved in his life and this still happens to me," Stallion said "Question your kids, know their friends, know where they live. As for the teenagers, this could happen to you, this is not a fun place for him or myself."
His family said Trey will eventually move to a physical therapy center in Austin. They will also have to relocate.
#7 Woman thanks Starbucks employees for looking our for daughter
In February, a Corpus Christi woman took to social media to thank Corpus Christi Starbucks baristas for making sure her daughter was safe when a stranger was lingering near her.
Brandy Roberson posted to Facebook that her high school aged daughter was alone in Starbucks on Staples St. and S. Padre Island Dr. when a man approached her.
"She was sitting at her table alone studying and this man came by and noticed what she was studying and wanted to talk to her about it," Roberson said. "He, I think, just kind of became really loud and animated about it," Roberson said.
A barista handed her “an extra hot chocolate someone forgot to pick up,” with a note on the cup that said "Are you okay? Do you want us to intervene? If you do, take the lid off the cup."
The post now has more than 56,000 times on Facebook.
"How grateful I am for people who look out for other people!" Roberson said in the post.
Roberson said her daughter did feel safe and did not remove the lid, and was sure to let the baristas know.
The daughter said the whole team at Starbucks was watching over her the rest of the time she was there.
The mother said she is so grateful for everyone at the store who helped look after her daughter and made her feel safe.
#6 Corpus Christi attorney arrested on human smuggling charges
In August, a Corpus Christi attorney spent six days behind bars after being found with four migrants in his rental car near Del Rio.
Attorney Timothy Dan Japhet said he was cited on four cases of human smuggling but has not been indicted or formally charged.
"I'm out on bond until they indict me," Japhet told 3NEWS. He added he does not think they will ever indict him and thinks the case will eventually get dropped.
News of the arrest went viral when a constable from Galveston posted about it on Facebook to congratulate his deputies. They were in Del Rio as part of Operation Lone Star, the task force that Gov. Greg Abbott created to combat illegal immigration.
Japhet was arrested while wearing an orange Corpus Christi Hooks jersey.
Japhet said he was actually heading to an Eagle Pass casino and had his dog with him. He said he mistakenly agreed to give some hitchhikers a ride, got nervous about his decision and then tried to get pulled over.
He said a man approached him when he had stopped to let his dog use the bathroom. The man asked if Japhet would give him and his friend a ride. Japhet said yes, but then two more people suddenly appeared. Japhet said he protested but felt pressured to take them.
"I thought, this is not looking good for me right now," Japhet said. "I made a bad decision."
Japhet said he tried to drive fast to get the attention of law enforcement.
"There were cops every turn. There was DPS, Homeland Security, Border Patrol, city, county..."
Japhet says deputies working with the Department of Public Safety stopped him initially and then Border Patrol showed up. He said he allowed Border Patrol to search his phone, look at his apps, and read his text messages and call log.
He thought they were going to let him go -- until the tow truck showed up.
#5 New Harbor Bridge at risk of "collapse" if design not updated
In July, TxDOT dropped a bombshell. The new Harbor Bridge being constructed in Corpus Christi was at risk of "collapse" under the design they were using.
The new Harbor Bridge had design flaws so significant that TxDOT said "the bridge would collapse under certain load conditions" should developer Flatiron Dragados LLC (FDLLC) finish the bridge without making design changes.
TxDOT released the contents of a letter it sent to FDLLC on July 15, the same day it ordered construction crews to stop all work on the main span of the bridge. That's the portion over the water.
TxDOT said it has "concluded there is or will be an emergency or danger to persons or property related to the design deficiencies."
"We cannot and will not compromise on safety," TxDOT said in a prepared statement to the media on Thursday. "We can assure the public that we are prepared to take the steps necessary to complete this project in the safest and most efficient manner possible."
After months of the work stoppage and a new design made, work resumed on the main span on the bridge in December.
#4 Ray High School students killed in crash after graduation rehearsal
In one of the most heartbreaking stories of the year, two Ray High School seniors were killed in a car crash just after leaving graduation rehearsal.
The students were set to graduate that week.
The crash happened at E. Port Avenue and W. Broadway Street before noon on May 31, according to the Corpus Christi Police Department. Police said the driver of the car the students were in lost control while driving down Port Ave.
Two chairs wrapped in white bows remained empty at the graduation ceremony, which were reserved for the two students, Mathew Garcia and Marcello Saldua.
"It's awesome because they were here the whole year," graduating senior Israel De Los Santos said. "We should still remember them and have a seat open for them."
There was a large round of applause as Garcia and Saldua's names were read before the graduating class went on to receive their diplomas. The school's principal offered condolences to the families and friends of the young students.
#3 Tires stolen while man watched movie at South Texas theater
While it may be common to change one or two tires at a time, one Corpus Christi man had his work cut out for him in January.
Jeff Nelson, owner of a blue Chevy pickup, walked out of the Century 16 movie theater to see his truck tires -- all four of them -- had been stolen.
"I walked out at 1:30 p.m. with my kids, and I saw my truck from afar," Nelson said. "I was kind of confused because I saw it sitting kind of sideways."
He said many thoughts ran through his mind at first glance, but as he got closer to his truck, he realized what happened.
"I finally walked up to it and realized all my tires and rims were gone," Nelson said.
He said all that was left was his tireless vehicle, a brick used to prop up the rear end of his truck, and a jack holding up the front.
Nelson said the theft was a tough pill to swallow due to the price point of the items. The tires and rims that were stolen are estimated to cost around $5,000, with Nelson having to pay an additional $500 to to get replacements just so his truck could get towed.
Since the truck was resting on its left axle for a prolonged period, Nelson said his truck suffered additional damage.
Nelson said there were no cameras in the front parking lot of Century 16 theater where the theft occurred, but there was a witness.
"The car that was parked behind me saw someone load up the last tire into a white minivan," Nelson said. "And they're the ones who called the police, which was about 45 minutes before I got there."
Luckily, Nelson said there was an officer on duty at the theater who stayed with him until he could file a report.
Nelson said he did have locking lug nuts, but that didn't stop the thieves.
"It's a shame there are people out there doing this kind of stuff," Nelson said. "I never thought it would happen to me, but it could happen to anybody."
#2 Freer rattlesnake handler dies from bite at event
In another heartbreaking story, a beloved Freer rattlesnake handler died after he was bitten at the Rattlesnake Roundup in Freer.
Freer Police Chief Hector Doria confirmed to 3News that Eugene DeLeon Sr. was bitten in the shoulder and taken by helicopter to a hospital in Corpus Christi but later died.
One of the organizers of the Rattlesnake Roundup said that DeLeon was performing and handling rattlesnakes in front of a crowd at the time he was bitten.
The Freer Chamber of Commerce puts on the Rattlesnake Roundup, and it's the city's largest festival of the year.
DeLeon had over 20 years of experience handling snakes. His family wrote on Facebook that "he had a passion for snake handling" and that he was "doing what he loved doing."
#1 Nueces County traffic stop turns into largest liquid fentanyl bust in U.S. history
Our number one story from 2022 is from December... meaning it got more views in one month than the rest of the stories did most of the year.
On Dec. 1, a Nueces County traffic stop turned into the largest liquid fentanyl bust in the nation's history.
"During the search we located a compartment built in the gas tank of this vehicle, and inside the gas tank was a modified tank which had roughly 25 pounds or 3 gallons of liquid fentanyl," explained Mike Tamez with the Nueces County District Attorney's Criminal Interdiction Unit.
A Precinct 3's constable deputy working with Tamez's unit made the drug bust. U.S. Border Patrol was also involved.
Tamez said a number of things caused the deputy to believe something was not right. First, the deputy found $6,700 in cash under the vehicle's carpet. Then the deputy discovered a suspicious bolt in the rear floorboard of the vehicle that fed into the vehicle's gas tank.
Tamez said the deputy immediately knew something was wrong because this is how liquid meth is sometimes concealed. But this liquid didn't crystallize when hitting the open air like meth does, and it later tested negative for meth.
One officer suggested it was fentanyl. That test came back positive.
"When we spoke with our federal partners to help us with this case the one commonality was that they never heard of this much liquid fentanyl ever being hit on a traffic stop on a Texas highway," Tamez said.
Officers called in a HAZMAT unit, and the clean-up took hours. The scene wasn't clear until 7 p.m.
Tamez said this drug bust will make a difference because fentanyl overdoses continue to surge both in Nueces County and nationwide.
"It’s killing people," Tamez said. "It's overdosing and killing them. It's definitely one of the most dangerous drugs and highly addictive drugs on the market today."