A worker at the City of Roma landfill was taken to the Starr County Jail. A sworn police affidavit says he took cash to cut a garbage company's dump fees in half.

Sergio DeJesus Flores Barrera was arrested on Sept. 1, 2026. He is charged with theft by a public servant. A public servant is a person who works for the city, county or state. The charge is a state jail felony. That can mean 180 days to 2 years in a state jail.

The case is laid out in an affidavit for an arrest warrant. Roma officer Jorge Oyervides signed it under oath. It describes an undercover sting. It says Flores took $1,450 in cash in two deals.

The complaint says Flores ran the scale at the City of Roma landfill.

How it started

On Aug. 19, Oyervides talked to the owner of Rio Grande Garbage. They talked about a reported plan to cut the company's fees.

The owner told police that Flores had made him an offer. Flores would waive or lower the fees the company paid to dump at the landfill. In return, the owner would pay Flores in cash. The cash would be half of what the company should have paid the landfill.

With police in the room, the owner called Flores. The call was recorded. The affidavit says Flores laid out the deal again on the call. The owner was acting on police orders. He agreed to go ahead.

The sting

Next, an investigator went undercover. His name is Alvaro Trevino. He works for the 229th Judicial District Attorney's Office. He posed as a man sent by the garbage company owner.

On Aug. 21, Trevino called Flores. That call was also recorded. Flores agreed to meet him in Roma on Aug. 24, the affidavit says.

On Aug. 24, Flores sent Trevino photos of landfill receipts. The receipts showed truck numbers, weights and fees. They also showed math that cut the fees in half. The total came to $435, the affidavit says.

The two met that same day. They met in the AMCLO parking lot at Riverview Plaza in Roma. Trevino paid Flores $440 in cash. Flores handed over paper landfill receipts. The deal was caught on audio and video, the affidavit says.

The second deal

On Aug. 28, Flores sent Trevino a text, the affidavit says. It said $1,010 was owed for Rio Grande Garbage trucks. It said they would trade at the same AMCLO lot.

On Aug. 31, Trevino met Flores and gave him $1,010. Flores then drove toward the Roma Port of Entry. A marked Roma police unit pulled him over. Officers held Flores and served him with a search warrant.

"Across the two controlled transactions, Flores received a total of $1,450," the affidavit says.

Why the city is the victim

The undercover investigator handed over the cash. But the complaint says the money belonged to the City of Roma. It says Flores took it without the city's consent. It says the money came into his hands because of his city job. The complaint puts the value at $750 or more but less than $2,500.

The arrest

A Roma municipal judge signed the arrest warrant on Sept. 1. The warrant suggests bail of $50,000 with a surety bond. A surety bond is usually paid through a bail bond company.

The warrant reached officers at 8:30 a.m. that day. They arrested Flores at 9 a.m. They took him to the Starr County Jail. That is what the officer wrote on the back of the warrant.

What the documents do not say

The court documents do not say how long the deals went on before police got the tip. They do not say if any other trucks or companies were part of it. They do not give Flores's age. They do not name a lawyer for him. It was not clear if he had posted bond.

Everyone is presumed innocent until proved otherwise.