TWO SOUTH TEXAS OFFICERS FACE DRUG CHARGES

A Uvalde police captain and a Frio County reserve sheriff's deputy are
facing federal drug charges in unrelated cases, the FBI announced Thursday.

Uvalde Police Capt. Armando Martinez, 44, was arrested Thursday by FBI
agents after his Jan. 8 indictment by a federal grand jury in Del Rio
on charges of selling cocaine on four occasions from March to June
2001.

Martinez is being held in federal custody pending a detention hearing
set for Jan. 22 in Del Rio.

The FBI began investigating Martinez almost two years ago, FBI Special
Agent Rene Salinas said.

"This captain was selling narcotics that were seized off the street
... so they never made it to the evidence locker," Salinas said.

Uvalde Police Chief Sam Russell said Martinez was placed on unpaid
administrative leave. Martinez has served in the department for more
than 16 years, he said.

"It's one of those things that's unfortunate and it hurts those
officers on the street," Russell said. "We're going to have to work
our way through it."

In a separate investigation, Frio County Reserve Deputy Raul Sanchez
Castillo, 49, has been charged with attempting to possess with intent
to distribute more than 500 grams of cocaine. He was charged in a
criminal complaint filed by an FBI agent.

Sanchez was arrested Jan. 13 after accepting a boxed nightstand
containing fake cocaine from an FBI informant, according to court
records. He is out on a $50,000 personal recognizance bond and is set
to appear for a preliminary court hearing in San Antonio on Jan. 23.

Sanchez had worked as a deputy for the Uvalde County sheriff's office
from 1994 until August 2001, when Sheriff Terry Crawford said he fired
Sanchez because "he was definitely under a cloud of suspicion at that
time."

Crawford said Sanchez recently started working for the Frio County
Sheriff's Office. However, his length of service and employment status
were unclear Thursday because Frio County Sheriff Lionel Trevino did
not return calls seeking comment.

Last year, three former Frio County sheriff's deputies were convicted
and sentenced to prison for violating civil rights, burglarizing and
stealing while in uniform.