293rd District Attorney’s Office

On May 6th, 2024, the 293rd Judicial District Attorney’s Office Operation Lone Star prosecutors began a jury trial for the offense of smuggling of persons with possession of a firearm, a second degree felony. After 2 days of trial, the jury deliberated and found the defendant guilty. The jury then assessed punishment at 3 years confinement in the institutional division of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Assistant District Attorneys Marlowe Zamora, Ramses Betancourt, and Amanda Riojas were the prosecutors who worked diligently in preparation of this case. We thank our BPU/OLS investigator, Michael Torralba, and the Maverick County Sheriff’s Office for their assistance in this matter. We thank the jurors for their dedication and hard work in rendering a verdict according to the law and the evidence presented. The District Attorney’s Office will continue to pursue justice in Maverick, Dimmit, and Zavala counties.

Assistant District Attorneys Ruben Ramos and Marlowe Zamora tried a burglary of a Building case against a defendant who entered a storage unit and removed items that didn’t belong to her. The jurors of Maverick County found the defendant GUILTY and held her accountable for her actions. This sends a message to the community that this type of behavior will not be tolerated and you will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

On behalf of the 293rd District Attorneys Office we’d like to congratulate our fellow Investigator, Michael Torralba. A big congratulations on achieving his Masters of Jurisprudence - Criminal Justice and Education Law Concentration. Thank you for your dedication and commitment. We look forward to your continued service here at the DA office.

On February 12th, 2024, the 293rd Judicial District Attorney’s Office began its very first jury trial for the offense of smuggling of persons. After 2 days of trial, the jury deliberated and convicted the defendant for smuggling of persons with intent to obtain a pecuniary benefit, a 2nd degree felony. The jury then assessed punishment at 5.5 years confinement in the institutional division of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Assistant District Attorneys Amanda Riojas, Ramses Betancourt, and Marlowe Zamora were the prosecutors who worked diligently in preparation of this case. We thank TX DPS for their assistance in this matter. We thank the jurors for their dedication and hard work in rendering a verdict according to the law and the evidence presented. The District Attorney’s Office will continue to pursue justice in Maverick, Dimmit, and Zavala counties.

On October 2, 2023, the 293rd Judicial District Attorney’s Office started a case against the defendant Marco Gloria for 3 counts of sexual assault of a child. After 4 days of trial, the jury deliberated and convicted Mr. Gloria on 2 counts of sexual assault of a child. We thank the jurors for their dedication and hard work in rendering a verdict according to the law and the evidence presented. The District Attorney’s will continue to pursue justice in Maverick, Dimmit, and Zavala counties.

🚨🚨🚨We’re Hiring! Please ask for an application at the emails listed below.

The 293rd District Attorney’s office continues to support our youth and wishes all exhibitors the best of luck this year with their show projects.

On September 28, 2022, The 293rd District Attorney’s Office held trainings for law enforcement officers in our district at the Dimmit County Rodeo Arena Conference Center. The trainings consisted of report writing and juvenile issues. The instructor was Melissa Hightower who retired as the Chief Investigator for the Williamson’s County Attorney’s Office.
We would like to thank the various law enforcement agencies that showed up including, Dimmit County Sheriff’s Office, Zavala County Sheriff’s Office, Eagle Pass Police Department, Crystal City ISD, Dimmit County Juvenile Probation, Zavala County Juvenile Probation, Maverick County Juvenile Probation, Kickapoo Tribe Police Department, Texas Department of Public Safety, Carrizo Springs ISD, and The Texas Ranger’s Division of DPS.
Our office is committed to working with all law enforcement agencies in order to provide better safety and security to our citizens.

The Office of the District Attorney is responsible for the prosecution of felony crimes within the 293rd Judicial District, which covers Dimmit, Zavala and Maverick Counties. In just the last few months the Office of the District Attorney has obtained, by way of plea agreements and jury trials, over one hundred and seventy (170) convictions. Notably after coming off of covid backlogs, the office has as well conducted over 10 jury trials throughout the district.
Furthermore, due to the unprecedented border migration impacting our district, our office has encountered hundreds of new felony cases that have been referred for prosecution. The State of Texas has recognized that the 293rd Judicial District is at the epicenter of human smuggling in the State and has added the 293rd D.A.’s Office to a Special District Court to help address this crisis. Thus, the D.A.’s Office now has the equivalent of three (3) District Courts to work in three (3) different counties. A tremendous amount of work has been added to the already massive and extensive caseload carried by our office.

I would like to recognize and commend the outstanding job being done by our Assistant District Attorneys: Hugo Zapata, Jaime “AJ” Iracheta, Amanda Riojas, and Ruben Ramos, our investigators and legal support staff for taking on this responsibility in these unparalleled times.

The District Attorney’s Office continues to pledge that justice will be pursued. Prosecutors in the State of Texas are ethically bound by the Rules of Professional Responsibility which dictate that, “Prosecutors are to seek justice and not convictions.” Therefore, every case will be thoroughly reviewed and only cases that meet the standard for prosecution and can be proven beyond a reasonable doubt will be prosecuted.

📢📢📢 Training announcement 📢📢📢

The District Attorney’s office will be hosting a free training for all Law Enforcement Officers on September 28, 2022 in Dimmit County. Law enforcement will receive TCOLE hours. Please contact our office for registration information!

🚨🚨🚨 Indictments alert!

Last week the District Attorney’s office presented 17 criminal cases to a grand jury in Maverick County. All of the cases were returned with a true bill!

The District Attorney’s office also presented 14 cases to a grand jury in Dimmit County.

The District Attorney’s office continues to prosecute felony criminal cases to the fullest extent of the law.

*All defendants are innocent until proven guilty.

On May 20, 2022, Assitant District Attorney’s Hugo Zapata and AJ Iracheta finished presenting a case to a Maverick County Jury in which the jury found the defendant guilty of Theft of more than $2,500 but less than $30,000.
Today, after a sentencing hearing, the State of Texas presented evidence in regards to punishment and the Court assessed the full amount of restitution of $26,254.04 against the defendant finalizing the case for the State and as well for the victims of the matter. The District Attorneys Office will continue to fight for victims rights and will make sure the law is upheld.

ANNOUNCEMENT: In Maverick County, on July 8, 2022, Eugenio Zuniga Ramirez pled guilty and was sentenced to 20 months confinement in a State Jail Facility in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice for possession of a controlled substance - less than one gram of methamphetamine. The District Attorney’s office takes drug cases very seriously and they will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

Great job to all prosecutors, DA staff and law enforcement officers involved. ⚖️

Happy 4th of July from The 293rd/365th District Attorney’s office! Please stay safe and do not drink and drive!

293rd District Attorney’s Office updated their business hours.