FRIO SHERIFF PLEADS GUILTY

The Frio County sheriff pleaded guilty to theft and drug charges
Tuesday and then went back to the community where he still has the
badge and the gun if not the trust that goes with the job of the top
elected law enforcement official.

Appearing in San Antonio's federal court, Sheriff Carl Burris publicly
acknowledged for the first time that he pocketed $7,726 confiscated
during a 1994 traffic stop. Compounding the theft, Burris also
admitted that in 1997 he tried selling about 262 pounds of seized
marijuana in order to replace the missing money.

Both crimes were charged as felonies: stealing from a federally funded
government and conspiring to distribute marijuana. The drug charge
carries a minimum penalty of five years in prison.

But because Burris' conviction will not be final until his
yet-unscheduled sentencing, the brief hearing did little to resolve
the bizarre situation in the county roughly 40 miles south of San
Antonio, where rural law enforcement is being run by an admitted lawbreaker.

Humble and soft-spoken outside the courtroom, the 53-year-old who has
worn a badge for two decades declined to discuss what led to his
"self-induced problem."

Instead, he said he would withdraw as a candidate for re-election but
would not resign. His term ends Jan. 1.

"I've been in law enforcement most of my life," Burris said. "When you
makea mistake, you need to stand up, 'fess up to it and let the law
take its course."

The charges surfaced nearly two years ago, but the case appeared to
linger, leaving him temporarily unable to carry a gun, but still in
office a=80=94 unaffected as far as constituents could tell.

A judge last week gave Burris permission to once again carry his
service weapon, citing manpower shortages and an ongoing murder
investigation.

Even now, the case seems little more than a rumor in Frio County,
where skepticism of the federal government and news media runs as deep
as, if not deeper than, distrust of local officials.

In the county seat of Pearsall, elected officials, from the county
judge to the county attorney, said they knew little about the case and
would not discuss whether their colleague should resign after he
signed a plea deal last week.

Opinions appeared stronger, but varied, in gathering spots like the
Cactus Bowl cafe and the Golden Fried Chicken, where the 40-cent cup
of coffee is bottomless and the gossip nearly nonstop.

Some attributed the sheriff's misdeeds to low pay -- roughly
$32,000a year. Several were ready to forgive the hulking, easygoing
Burris.

Jesse Garcia, a Pearsall city councilman and ranch hand, said he
believed Burris could still win the election but for the conviction
that seems likely to make him ineligible for office.

"I think he can go straighten everything out and go forward," Garcia
said. "He's a super nice guy."

Others said the sheriff should have given up his badge long
ago.

Grace Caraveo, a counselor at Pearsall Intermediate School, said by
tolerating a corrupted sheriff, the county would undermine basic
lessons taught at her school, namely that drugs are bad and crimes
have consequences
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