(Seguin) — Indictments have been handed down against two members of the marshal’s office in the city of Santa Clara. The indictments were recently issued by a Guadalupe County Grand Jury.
Santa Clara Chief Marshal Jerry Marvin Airola, 58, is facing multiple charges, including two charges of misuse of official information. Those are felony charges. Chief Airola also faces misdemeanor charges of official oppression, and unauthorized use or disclosure of computerized criminal history (CCH).
The allegations suggest that there were questionable practices being used by Airola and other members of the marshal’s office. That includes instances in which marhals were operating outside of the jurisdiction of the city of Santa Clara, with arrests being made improperly and without allegedly providing proper notifications to the law enforcement agencies that had actual jurisdiction over those areas.
There are also allegations that marshals may have been misusing criminal history records, by running background checks on individuals — for reasons unrelated to law enforcement.
In addition to the indictments handed down against Airola, the grand jury also handed two indictments against deputy marshal Terreal R. Hatcher, 34. Hatcher was indicted on two charges of official oppression as part of his time with the Santa Clara Marshal’s Office. Hatcher also works as a marshal with the city of New Berlin.
Both men recently turned themselves in to the Zavala County Jail. It’s not uncommon for law enforcement officials, accused of a crime, to turn themselves in to an agency outside the area in which they work.
We attempted to reach the city of Santa Clara for comment on the indictments, but have not yet received a response.