Ropesville police chief arrested in firearms investigation

[TexasTowelie]

Ashley Ramirez, 40, booked into Hockley County Jail on $120,000 bond

Ropesville’s police chief was arrested Friday in a case involving the firearms trade.

Ashley Ramirez, 40, is charged with three counts of tampering with or fabricating physical evidence and one count of abuse of official capacity.

Records indicate that as of news time, he is being held in the Hockley County Jail on a $120,000 bond.

An investigation revealed Ramirez pawned three guns — two shotguns and a rifle — that were considered evidence in a criminal case.

Read more: http://lubbockonline.com/crime-and-courts/crime/2015-05-29/ropesville-police-chief-arrested-firearms-investigation#comment-371955

[Downwinder]

1. That's half the Department.

How many do you need for 500 people?

[TexasTowelie]

2. Apparently Ropesville is having some other issues.

Small town life holds a lot of interesting stories. Here is an article from April that might be of interest:

ROPESVILLE — A failed financial audit and environmental violations from the state are troubling residents of this tiny Hockley County town.

“It’s just poor spending. We’ve had no accountability whatsoever — none,” said local resident Brenda Rabel, who served two months on City Council before she left in frustration.

Chief of Police Ashley Ramirez, though, said the employee responsible for hurting the city’s fund balance no longer works for the city and is suspected of criminal activity.

“That’s part of my investigation,” he said in response to an A-J Media inquiry about certain credit card charges.

For example, records indicate someone used a city credit card to make almost-daily purchases at restaurants. Some transactions came from San Antonio — including $127 and $41 at a hotel bar — that were not part of a city-approved travel plan.

More at http://lubbockonline.com/local-news/2015-04-25/overspending-water-violations-trouble-ropesville