Los Fresnos Shows Support for Injured DPS Officer

by Tony Vindell/LFN

As trooper Moises Sanchez was recovering at a hospital from gunshot wounds, people from the Los Fresnos area and elsewhere held a barbecue fundraiser as a show of support for the officer’s family.

Hundreds of people responded to the drive held at the parking lot of the Zarsky Lumber Co. on Texas Highway 100.

Sanchez, 48, was shot on the head on Saturday April 6 while responding to a vehicle accident on North 10th Street by a man identified as Victor Alejandro Godinez, 24.

The BBQ was the idea of Martin Magallan, the lumber store general manager, who thought to sell 100 plates of chicken leg quarters accompanied with rice and beans.

But as word spread out, the community responded with such a fervor that caught people by surprise.

More than 400 plates were sold, some at times faster than hot cakes.

At some point, people had to wait for the chicken to be cooked but that did not matter.

Magallan said they were doing the fundraising for the trooper’s grownup children.

“We are glad for the support we got from the community,” he said. “We also want to thank our sponsors.”

Among them Lopez Supermarkets, Ruben Ibarra Construction of Los Fresnos, Estrada Construction of Brownsville and B&H Services.

Also, the Los Fresnos Fire Department and the local school district helped out.
The fundraising made $4,000.

“It feels good,” Carlota Narvaez, who is the wife of Mayor Polo Narvaez, said. “This is about bringing people together for a good cause.”

Jessica Gomez agreed.

“Everybody is pulling together,” she said. “And doing this makes you feel a lot better,”