COMPLAINT DETAILS DRUG BUST

Deputy's Arrest Upsets Robstown

When Robstown constable's deputy Javier Alberto Nava couldn't find any
buyers for the marijuana he allegedly was keeping in his bedroom closet, he
turned to another man to help him get rid of it, according to a Department
of Public Safety complaint.

The two hoped to get $17,000 for the 34 pounds of marijuana when they
allegedly tried to sell the bundle to undercover DPS officers Saturday in
the parking lot of the H-E-B at 11100 Leopard St.

All they got was arrested.

Nava, a Precinct 5 constable's deputy arrested on suspicion of federal drug
trafficking charges as part of a DPS narcotics sting, has been suspended
without pay.

"When something like this happens, it does reflect (poorly) on the
department, that I have to say," said Precinct 5 Constable Mike Roldan.

"I have really been offended by this particular case."

Roldan said it is particularly hard to stomach because of the work his
department has done fighting drugs.

When an officer is accused of a drug crime "it makes it real tough for us,"
Roldan said. "It bothers me."

Roldan said his office will cooperate with the DPS, which is leading the
investigation, but that he didn't think any other officers from his
department are involved.

DPS set up the sting after an anonymous tipster said a Precinct 5 officer
was trying to sell drugs, according to the complaint.

Nava was arrested after he and another man tried to sell the marijuana,
which was in the bed of Nava's truck in an athletic bag, to undercover DPS
officers, according to the complaint.

Nava had his 9mm semiautomatic service revolver in his possession for
protection during the deal, the complaint said.

Both were taken to the Corpus Christi DPS office. Nava faces federal
charges of possession with intent to distribute marijuana.

No additional information on the other man was available because of an
ongoing investigation, said DPS narcotics Lt. Pat O'Burke.

Nava posted a $25,000 bond at a detainment hearing Wednesday and is no
longer in police custody, court officials said.

The arrests are troubling for Robstown residents, said Ena Molina, a
cashier at a Robstown Circle K convenience store.

"You come to Robstown, you ask people about (the arrests), they would start
talking - all of Robstown, almost," she said. "They don't know what to
trust anymore."