Sheriff Wiles, homeowner accused of improper campaign event

An online rumor on a Borderland blog alleges that Sheriff Richard Wiles held a campaign event at the house of a convicted drug dealer this past weekend. So ABC-7 looked into the allegations, and dug deeper to see what really happened and if there was any wrongdoing.

Wiles told ABC-7 Tuesday that he did attend a community event at a home in Tornillo over the weekend. And homeowner Ricardo Hernandez said there’s no reason the sheriff shouldn’t have come.

“I don’t have any problem with the law,” Hernandez said. “And I don’t have no ties with no – any criminal activities.”

Hernandez told ABC-7 at his house that he didn’t organize the event, but was happy to offer his home to house it. He described it as a community gathering where a number of elected officials and candidates were invited to come speak about the issues to supporters.

“I paid everything to the society,” Hernandez said. “I don’t have nothing to pay to the society right now. Only to God.”

Hernandez admits he was convicted of marijuana possession and served a year in prison in 1995. He showed ABC-7 crews his financial statements and records to support his claim that he has only done legal work since, including running Lupita’s Grocery Store in the area. He has since sold that business, and was doing other jobs before and since like oil field work, before being injured on the job.

On the possession conviction and jail time, Hernandez said “I was younger, and I don’t think that way now I guess. It was a mistake, but I’m responsible for what I did. I’m responsible and take responsibility, and I paid my crime.”

ABC-7 also contacted Wiles’s campaign to see if there were any conflicts with department policy about association with people convicted with crimes. Wiles was not able to speak on camera Tuesday, but over the phone he said he didn’t know Hernandez or his background before meeting him at his home that day.

But even then, Wiles said, “There is an expectation that officers don’t associate with people of bad reputation… (It) depends on how old it is. The understanding is people get in trouble, pay their debt to society, we can’t hold that against them.”

ABC-7 also reached out to Wiles’s Republican opponent, Tom Buchino. In response, he said “Wiles has been invited multiple times… to stand side by side with me to discuss the issues. When it comes to him meeting with these people, that’s his business. He’s running his own campaign. I do believe you are the company that you keep.”

Early voting for the upcoming elections begins Oct. 24, and runs through Nov. 4. Election day is Nov. 8.