EXCLUSIVE: SBPD seeks answers in Code Red scare

Police chief: ‘Main threat was over in Harlingen’

By HEATHER CATHLEEN COX
Staff Writer
Reporter@sbnewspaper.com

Confusion abounds as details continue to emerge with regard to last week’s Code Red lockdown.

Officials with the San Benito Police Department will approach the Cameron County District Attorney’s Office with regard to a Jan. 16 threat that resulted in a lockdown of schools within the San Benito Consolidated Independent School District.

Nobody was on the same page.

– Martin Morales

SBPD Chief of Operations

Last Friday, local authorities received information claiming that Juan Manuel Garcia, 45, had threatened to open gunfire on at least one school within SBCISD. The same informant stated that if law enforcement interfered, Garcia warned he would shoot them as well.

The accuser has since been identified as Pedro Bejaran, of San Benito, authorities confirmed on Tuesday.

In an exclusive interview with San Benito News, Garcia said in Spanish, “No, that’s totally a lie. … It’s been like two weeks since I’ve been in San Benito.” According to Garcia, Bejaran was his friend. Garcia further stated that the false allegations resulted from a personal dispute between the two men around 6 a.m. on the morning of Jan. 16, when the men allegedly argued over a $200 loan and borrowed firearms.

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Permanent link to this article: https://www.sbnewspaper.com/2015/01/20/exclusive-sbpd-seeks-answers-in-code-red-scare/

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