IS JUDGE DAVID SANCHEZ DROPPING THE OTHER SHOE?

By Juan Montoya
Brought to you by the same folks who brought you the indictment of Cameron County District Attorney' Armando Villalobos and the unexpected resignation of 357th District Judge Leonel Alejandro: the possible resignation of 444th District Judge David Sanchez?
As the last firecrackers burst across the skies of Cameron County and resonated across the delta, we have heard that Sanchez will be the next county jurist to call it quits as we head into 2013. Sanchez is the twin brother of current Pct. 2 Commissioner Dan Sanchez who has made it no secret that he wants to be the next county judge.
Everyone was surprised when they heard that Villalobos would be indicted and ridiculed the post. And neither the local newspaper nor the county judges office learned of Alejandro's checking out early until his letter crossed Texas Gov. Rick Perry's desk.
Now – right here at grassroots level – we hear that Sanchez will be the next in line to leave his public office.
Like Alejandro, some feel that Sanchez's  resignation might well be linked to the testimony that resulted from the trial of disgraced 404th District Judge Limas, who has pleaded guilty to racketeering and was one of the witnesses in the federal trial of Brownsville attorney Ray Marchan.
Marchan, a successful trial attorney originally from Port Isabel, was found guilty on seven counts of racketeering, aiding extortion, and mail fraud. Southern District Federal Judge Andrew Hanen later threw out one of the charges and sentenced him last week to 42 months in the federal penitentiary.
During the trial, Marchan’s defense attorney Noe Domingo Garza Jr. prodded Limas to name other state district judges in Cameron County who may have engaged in unethical conduct or other wrongdoing.
Limas named Alejandro, 138th District Judge Arturo Nelson, 444th District Judge David Sanchez, and 404th District Judge Elia Cornejo-Lopez.
We won't know the whys and wherefores of the Sanchez resignation – and we tend to believe there will be one forthcoming – until his letter reaches the governor's desk.
For now, however, Perry may have two vacancies to fill in the Cameron County judiciary.