Nixon men arraigned on charges

Nixon City Councilman Auvye Trammell, 47, and Jesse Maldonado Jr., 37, also of Nixon, were arraigned last week in a federal court in San Antonio.  Tramell and Maldonado were both arrested June 3 on federal drug trafficking charges and taken into custody by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), with assistance from the Texas Department of Public Safety.
“The case is before the U.S. court now,” said Nina Pruneda, Public Affairs Officer for Central/South Texas, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. “The investigation is continuing in Laredo and San Antonio and all of the agents in those areas are working together on this.”
Authorities believe Trammell and Maldonado are connected to an marijuana trafficking ring.  Authorities are searching for two other suspects whose names have not been released.  All four were indicted two weeks ago by a federal grand jury in San Antonio on charges of conspiring to traffic more than 100 kilograms of marijuana and possessing more than 50 kilograms of marijuana.  Both men are also being charged with aiding and abetting.
Trammell was released on $50,000 unsecured bond at a hearing in federal court in San Antonio.  Maldonado was detained without bond pending a hearing June 11.  The results from that hearing are unknown at this time.
“We have no information about that because the docket is handled by the U.S. courts,” Paredo told The Cannon Wednesday. “Our investigation is based on information dating back to Laredo in January of this year.”
Maldonado was arrested Jan. 10, in Laredo, when he was caught driving a pickup truck from Mexico carrying approximately 80 kilos of marijuana. He plead guilty April 14, to a trafficking charge and was released on $1,500 bond. Court records show Trammell posted Maldonado’s bail.  Trammell is charged in the San Antonio case in connection with the drug load Maldonado was transporting on Jan. 10.
Trammell was elected to the Nixon city council in 1990 and served through 2001.  He was defeated in a re-election bid at that time. He was re-elected in 2001 due to a vacancy and has held the seat for the past nine years. In total, he has served on the Nixon council for almost 15 years and runs a local bail-bond company.