El Paso Sheriff, Socorro Councilman Feud Over Accusation Against Detective

A war of words broke out between El Paso County Sheriff Richard Wiles and Socorro Councilman Jesse Gandara Jr. over a criminal complaint filed Tuesday afternoon by the city representative.

Wiles said El Paso County Sheriff’s Detectives had been investigating a complaint that afternoon regarding the pavement of some Socorro driveways.

Wiles said an unidentified witness had come forward claiming public funds had been used to pave some of the private property in Gandara’s neighborhood.

According to Wiles, Gandara began taking pictures of the witness and also of the detectives following up on the investigation.

Wiles said the witness didn’t want to be photographed, so one of the detectives asked Gandara to stop taking pictures. When Gandara did not stop taking pictures, Wiles said, the detective grabbed the camera.

According to the police report, Gandara says that’s when the detective “squeezed (his) hand causing him pain.”

Gandara has filed a criminal complaint against the detective for assault, with the Socorro Police Department.

Wiles admits Gandara had the right to take pictures in a public area, but he thinks the entire incident was taken too far.

“He’s a city councilman,” Wiles said. “He’s an elected official. He knows better than this. And he’s out there videotaping us doing our job? Give me a break. That’s just silly. It’s unprofessional. And so yeah, maybe the detective shouldn’t have touched the camera. Ok, alright … and? And that means he should get arrested for a Class A assault?”

Gandara said he could not comment on the specifics of the incident, as it is an ongoing investigation. However, he said there’s more to the story. Gandara said, “I believe that when the facts come to light and Wiles does become aware of what has transpired and what actual facts substantiate those (assault) claims, he’s gonna be highly embarrassed. And I would expect a formal apology from the ignorance of the comments he made today.”

The feud didn’t just touch on the assault investigation. Both men traded jabs about the way each other handled their affairs. Wiles implied he didn’t trust the Socorro Police Department to handle the assault investigation. “I’m very concerned about the fairness in that investigation, given the fact that that police department works clearly for that city and has interest in appeasing certain councilmembers,” said Wiles. “They need to clean that stuff up out there. I mean, those citizens in Socorro deserve better than what they’re getting.”

Gandara said Wiles’ comments were a way to shift attention from his own office’s shortcomings. “Instead of looking at his own department to try and resurrect it from where it’s fallen to, he instead decides to point a finger at Socorro,” said Gandara. “He needs to get his own house in order.”

Wiles said the unidentified detective in this case is still on the job with his normal duties.