Over the past weekend, the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) conducted an operation leading to the arrest of two Mexican nationals in Hidalgo County, one of whom is a previously deported felon, under Operation Lone Star. The intervention unfolded on Sunday morning when a DPS Special Agent, while on surveillance, heard gunshots near Minnesota Road in Mission.
The DPS reported that the agent witnessed 47-year-old Hugo Alberto Lopez Herrera with a handgun and upon initiating an apprehension, Lopez Herrera tried to escape by running into a nearby residence and resisted arrest. Another individual, identified as 21-year-old Hugo Alberto Lopez Piedra, attempted to intervene in the arrest by grabbing one of the Special Agents. The commotion led to the discovery of a loaded Ruger 9mm handgun and an array of spent bullet casings, 46 in total, evidence of the earlier gunfire.
According to the DPS, Lopez Herrera faces charges which include deadly conduct, felon in possession of a firearm, and resisting arrest. His accomplice, Lopez Piedra, has been charged with resisting arrest and interfering with public duties. Both men were subsequently booked into the Hidalgo County Jail. Immigration detainers were also placed on them by U.S. Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO).
The two men had serious prior convictions. Lopez Herrera’s criminal background encapsulates illegal entry, drug possession and distribution, and money laundering, while Lopez Piedra's record is marked by driving under the influence, and drug possession and distribution. These arrests occur amid ongoing debates about border security and the management of criminal activities linked to illegal immigrants. The entire operation as depicted by DPS aimed to clamp down on such violations and underscored the vigilant nature of law enforcement agencies in the South Texas region.
