Two decades foiling crime: Crime Stoppers stats paint picture of success

WESLACO — Jose Antonio Ramirez was arrested May 16, charged with a burglary that took place on North Oklahoma Street nine days before police caught up with him.

Once in Weslaco police custody, Ramirez was also charged with harassment and another burglary warrant issued by the Hidalgo County Sheriff's Office. Local incidents like the aforementioned may go unsolved more frequently, police say, if not for assistance from the public via Crime Stoppers.

Crime Stoppers is a statewide system of locally placed networks that work with police to locate crime suspects. The organization offers cash rewards for information from the public that leads to arrests. The Governor's Office has declared January "Crime Stoppers Month" in Texas.

The Weslaco Police Department routinely utilizes its Crime Stoppers network to spread information to the community in hopes of finding burglars, drug traffickers and fugitives and locating missing persons.

Weslaco Police spokesman J.P. Rodriguez called the crime fighting tool a valuable resource for the community.

Since its creation in 1989 Weslaco Crime Stoppers, a state-certified Crime Stoppers program, had paid out more than $191,000 in cash rewards as of 2010, the organization's most current available statistics.

Crime Stoppers was established in Weslaco following a suspected double murder in 1988 whose alleged perpetrator 42-year-old Arturo Almaguer, currently awaits extradition to Texas from Grand Rapid, Mich.

"(Crime Stoppers) got started here in Weslaco because of the double-murder of the Squires back in 1988," Rodriguez said referring to the case.

The Squires, police say, were gunned down as they confronted intruders inside their trailer on November 13, 1988. It was an event that shocked the Weslaco community but lead to a group of businessmen to come together to establish the local Crime Stoppers branch.

Since then, records show, roughly 860 wanted suspects have been arrested and 847 cases have been cleared resulting in the recovery of $388,060 in recovered property.

"The numbers are just incredible statewide," Rodriguez said. "…It's up into the billions of dollars already."

Texas is home to more than 150 certified Crime Stoppers programs, which are linked together by local hotline numbers and a statewide, toll-free Crime Stoppers phone number.

Since the original Texas program began in 1978, Crime Stoppers tips have led to the arrest of 170,000 persons and the recovery of $1.2 billion in stolen property and narcotics, according the Governor's Office.

Governed by an 18-member board of local residents, the Weslaco Crime Stoppers, a non-profit entity, shares monthly probation fees from the Hidalgo County district courts with seven other county programs.

Donna and Weslaco are the only Mid-Valley cities with Crime Stoppers programs.

Edinburg, McAllen, Mission, Palmview and Pharr also participate in Crime Stoppers; Hidalgo County runs a county-wide effort.

Of the money collected, roughly 80 percent must be used for reward payments. Other funds are acquired through donations and fundraising projects.

All callers remain anonymous and tips that lead to arrests of wanted criminals make whistle blowers eligible for rewards that range from $50 to $1,000, depending on the crime.

Anyone with information on crimes in Weslaco can call the tips hotline at 956-968-8477 or the Texas Crime Stoppers at 1-800-252-8477.