Spartan Echo

CRYSTAL CITY, Texas (AP) — A Texas mayor spent the night in jail after allegedly disrupting a City Council meeting late Tuesday while fighting a recall effort that began before his indictment this month in a public corruption investigation that has ensnarled him and most of the council.

Crystal City Mayor Ricardo Lopez was jailed pending a bond hearing Wednesday. He was being held on charges that include hindering a proceeding by disorderly conduct and resisting arrest, search or transport, according to Zavala County jail records.

No attorney was listed as representing Lopez, and calls to his city-issued cellphone rolled to voicemail Wednesday.

Lopez and two council members were indicted this month in a federal bribery and conspiracy investigation, though one of the councilmen has since resigned. Another council member was arrested in January on unrelated human smuggling charges, leaving only one member of Crystal City’s City Council not facing criminal charges. The South Texas city of about 7,100 residents is about 115 miles southwest of San Antonio.

Lopez was arrested during Tuesday’s council meeting as discussion focused on recall efforts launched last fall stemming from residents’ concerns about high taxes and how public money was being spent. The recall petition targets Lopez and two council members.

A dispute erupted when City Clerk Selina Ramos said the five-day period had ended for the trio to decide whether to resign or face a recall. Adamant that he had more time, Lopez recessed the meeting and left to collect documents to support his position. Upon his return, multiple media outlets reported, he scuffled with a member of the angry audience and was detained.

Video from local television stations shows Lopez being handcuffed and put into a police car. Police Chief Jesus Lopez, who isn’t related to the mayor, said he was “inciting a riot” at the meeting.

The City Council was meeting Tuesday for the first time since the recall petition was certified by the city clerk on Feb. 11. A message left with the clerk’s office about when the meeting might be rescheduled was not immediately returned Wednesday.