Staff Writer Chris Vaughn reports that a federal judge in the Rio Grande Valley has sentenced a Texas National Guard soldier from Fort Worth to 38 months in prison for his role in smuggling illegal immigrants across the U.S.-Mexico border.
Clarence Hodge Jr., 36, a veteran sergeant in the Guard, (right) pleaded guilty in August to conspiracy to transport illegal immigrants last year as he worked in Laredo on Operation Jump Start, an effort aimed at curbing illegal immigration along the border.
Read more more about the case here.
Meanwhile, another guardsman assigned to Jump Start, made news Tuesday following his arrest Tuesday on drug trafficking charges in Fort Worth. Joseph Earl Jones, 31, also a sergeant, had earlier been to the police internal affairs office to file a complaint about a police search Friday which did not result in arrest.
Correspondent Susan Tallant reports that officers arrested Jones Tuesday after he allegedly sold drugs to an informant.
But not all local news involving the military is bad today.
Chris also reports that Tarrant County has emerged as one of the most productive recruiting areas in the nation, ranking fifth and far eclipsing Dallas, Los Angeles, Chicago, Detroit and Miami.
"The quality of the recruiting environment here is absolutely outstanding," said Capt. Rick Frank, a recruiter. "We obviously do not have the greatest population size. But there are good schools here and Texans have those core values of God, Mom, apple pie. They're willing to serve."
Read more here.
-- Bill Miller
Well, I think that all military should be held to high moral standards. This means that ONE person in the Army National Guard shouldn't lie to someone for "loans" (that amount to more than $20k) and then skip out on them with your girlfriend and the money and furniture. I think if this guy is guilty, he should be punished harsher than the regular Joe would if he was caught smuggling.
Posted by: Tarrant County Citizen | February 20, 2008 at 01:58 PM