Tovar out as mayor of Waelder

Roy Tovar is officially out as the mayor of Waelder.

In a plea agreement reached in 25th Judicial District Court Tuesday morning at the Gonzales County Courthouse, Tovar agreed to give up the mayoral seat he has held for the past 17½ years. His most recent re-election in May 2010 – his eighth successful campaign since taking office May 23, 1994 – was marred by a cloud of suspicion regarding voter validity.

District Attorney Heather McMinn brokered the deal that imposes a one-year probation stemming from a May 2009 assault of Melissa Rodriguez at the bar Tovar owns in Waelder.

In pleading guilty and agreeing to resign, Tovar is barred from public office for the duration of the probation period. Mayor Pro-Tem Mike Harris will now step into the city’s top office until a mayoral election can be held.

Judge Brenda Chapman, from Comal County, presided over Tuesday’s proceedings, during which Tovar pled guilty to one count of assault causing bodily injury, a Class A misdemeanor. Had the case gone to trial as scheduled, Tovar faced a maximum sentence of one year in jail and a fine not to exceed $4,000.

“Mr. Tovar accepted a plea of 12 months deferred adjudication in return for his plea of guilty and stepping down as mayor,” McMinn said. “We did agree to a $500 fine and 12 months of community supervision.

“Mr. Tovar had no prior history, and the victim in this case asked the state not to go forward with the charges,” she said following the court date. “We had our witnesses here, and the state was prepared to go to trial this morning.”

Because Tovar’s actions to which he admitted guilt were a result of him being intoxicated, an additional stipulation is that he must undergo drug and alcohol evaluation.

McMinn was handling the case as a special prosecutor at the request of Gonzales County Attorney Paul Watkins, who recused himself from the case to avoid any possible conflict of interest or appearance of lack of impartiality in the prosecution of the case. County Judge David Bird also recused himself because it was a case involving another elected official, which was why Chapman was appointed.

While Tuesday’s legal agreement prohibits Tovar from holding elected office for a year, McMinn acknowledged that any political future for the former mayor rests with the electoral system.

“The state of Texas cannot put conditions on persons after their term of supervision has elapsed,” McMinn said. “Hopefully, the voters and the people of Waelder will take under consideration his history if in fact he ever decides to run for political office again.”

Travis Hill, Tovar’s attorney, accepted Tuesday’s outcome with the proverbial grain of salt.

“Was justice served today? I don’t know if it was,” Hill said. “I didn’t believe Mayor Tovar was guilty. The alleged victim asked not to go on with the trial, but the DA’s office decided to continue anyway.

“The state made an offer for probation. I think it was a good deal for Mayor Tovar,” Hill said.

But closer to home, former Waelder police chief Larry D. Stamps, who is suing the city of Waelder for wrongful termination, was happy with the outcome.

“It is a travesty that some elected officials hold themselves above the law and refuse to conduct themselves as community leaders,” Stamps said. “Justice has been served. This is a great day in Waelder history.”

The incident in question occurred on May 1, 2009, at Lucky’s Ice House, which Tovar owns and operates.

According to a report from Waelder police officer Ysidro Torres, when Torres arrived at the bar, several individuals were driving away at a high rate of speed.

Torres said there was a vehicle parked sideways in the parking lot with several people around the driver’s side door. It was later determined that the person in the vehicle was Rodriguez.

As Torres walked toward the vehicle, he saw several men throwing beer bottles into the grass behind the bar. He found Rodriguez crying, and she said that neither he nor Waelder P.D. would do anything because Tovar was their boss.

The report also said that Tovar abruptly left the bar in an unidentified vehicle. As Torres talked to Rodriguez, he noticed she had bruising, redness, swelling and blood on her upper lip. She agreed to go to the police station to give a statement, and said she wished to press charges against Tovar.

Rodriguez told Torres she had arrived at the bar at 10:30 p.m. and started drinking. She added that Tovar invited her to come to his home after the bar closed, making sexual advances in the process. When she refused, Tovar became angry and the two began to argue.

The confrontation got physical when Rodriguez, exasperated with the situation, threw a salt shaker at Tovar, who responded by throwing a bottle at Rodriguez. According to the police report, neither person was hit, and Tovar then told Rodriguez to leave the bar.

Rodriguez told Torres that when she started to leave the bar in her vehicle, someone threw a bottle at her car and hit it.

Rodriguez alleged that when she got out of the car to ask who did it, Tovar came up to her out of the darkness and punched her in the face with his fist.

Torres said that while he was interviewing Rodriguez about the incident, a Dodge pickup arrived, and it was Tovar and his son. Tovar was not driving and had a strong odor of alcohol on his breath and person.

Torres said he explained to Tovar that he needed to finish talking to Rodriguez, and asked him to come back in a little while. Tovar told Torres to go look for him instead, and that he was not signing anything or writing a statement. Tovar added that Torres would have to write a statement for him.

According to Torres, Tovar then departed with his son. After concluding his discussion with Rodriguez, Torres then released her and went to Tovar’s home to speak with him.

Torres said that when he arrived at Tovar’s home, Tovar and family members were outside with Tovar sitting on the back of his truck. Tovar told Torres he wanted to file charges against Rodriguez for hitting him in the head.

From there, it became even more apparent to Torres that Tovar was intoxicated, as he was swaying back and forth and becoming argumentative and belligerent. Tovar told him he wanted Rodriguez put in jail that night and charged with “making him bleed,” Torres said. The police officer agreed with Tovar due to his intoxicated state, and recorded the entire conversation, which included profanity from Tovar.

Torres added that Tovar admitted to being involved in a disturbance while working at his bar that night, but that Tovar never called local law enforcement and left the premises as Torres arrived in a marked patrol car.

From the conversation, Torres was able to determine that Tovar “intentionally and knowingly caused bodily harm” to Rodriguez by punching her in the face with a closed fist.

A supplemental police report said that two days later, Torres received a written statement from Tovar saying he was struck in the head by a bottle just above his left eye. Torres added that Tovar looked as if he had been struck by something.

The report also said that Tovar admitted to striking Rodriguez in the face with a closed fist. Tovar also claimed that Rodriguez was intoxicated at the time of the incident, but Torres said he would not have allowed Rodriguez to drive to the police department if he believed her to be intoxicated in any way.

Tovar also stated that after he went home and cleaned up, he went to the police department to give a statement. Torres said he did not see any blood on Tovar’s face, but did see some slight bruising. Torres told Tovar that if he had been assaulted in his place of business, he should have called the Waelder Police Department.