Roel "Role" Valadez Jr. Removed

Roel "Role" Valadez Jr., a Starr County, Texas justice of the peace since 2018, was one of 19 people arrested in a September 2021 raid targeting a South Texas drug-trafficking organization dealing cocaine, marijuana, and methamphetamine. Valadez was charged with conspiracy to distribute controlled substances and four counts of possession with intent to distribute.

He pleaded guilty on March 18, 2024, to possessing with intent to distribute less than 100 kilograms of marijuana, and admitted he had used his position as a sitting justice of the peace to help the organization — including trying to get another judge to set a low bond for one of the organization's workers who had been detained by law enforcement, and attempting to get a courier for organization leader Ignacio Garza released from the Starr County jail. Chief U.S. District Judge Randy Crane sentenced Valadez to 21 months in federal prison.