Members of the Zapata family who were the subjects of an illegal gambling investigation were arraigned Monday, December 10 before Special Judge William Kirkendall in the 49th District Court in Zapata County.
Defendants Hilda Guerra Villarreal, Raul Rene Villarreal, and Rebecca Villarreal López, who were indicted by a Grand Jury on September 26, 2018, are scheduled to appear for a pre-trial hearing on January 22, 2019 in Zapata. Rebecca Villarreal López will also appear in the 406th District Court on the same date in Webb County in a related case.
Four search warrants were executed in Zapata on January 5, 2018, as part of a nine-month illegal gambling investigation conducted by the Texas Department of Public Safety Criminal Investigations Division, the Laredo Police Department, the District Attorney’s Office for the 49th Judicial District (Webb and Zapata County), and the Border Prosecution Unit, Region 2.
The warrants were executed in Zapata County at the following locations — Gold Mine Game Room, 2132 U.S. Hwy. 83; Magic Spins Game Room, 3002 N. U.S. Hwy. 83; Lucky Spins Game Room, 503 East Street in Falcon; and the residence of Hilda Guerra Villarreal at 1406 U.S. Hwy. 83.
A total of $1.76 million in cash was seized from the locations. Approximately $1.5 million of that amount — which was discovered concealed in safes, lockers, boxes, suitcases, various containers and several PVC pipes — was seized from the residence of Hilda Guerra Villarreal.
Five hundred and forty-six (546) gambling machines were seized along with facilities to manufacture, modify, and fabricate 8-liner machines.
A civil forfeiture action is presently pending in Zapata County for the seized cash. Simultaneous to the execution of the four search warrants in Zapata County, search warrants were also executed in Laredo at various Villarreal gambling establishments and at the residence of Rebecca López Villarreal.
Hilda Guerra Villarreal was indicted for keeping a gambling place in connection with money laundering, engaging in organized criminal activity in connection to money laundering, and engaging in organized criminal activity in connection to gambling promotion. Rebecca Villarreal López and Raul Rene Villarreal were both charged with engaging in organized criminal activity in connection to money laundering and engaging in organized criminal activity in relation to gambling promotion.
