January 21, 2008

ALICE, Tx. - We first reported on the Texas mayor who stole her neighbor's dog in the beginning of January. Since then, Mayor Grace Saenz-Lopez of Alice, Tx., has been indicted on two felony counts for tampering with physical evidence related to the case.

She faces 10 years in prison for each count; 1 concealment and one falsifying of evidence.

This story originally came to our attention because the mayor claims she rescued the dog from its owners. As the story goes, Saenz-Lopez's neighbors asked her to care for the dog while they went on vacation over the summer.

The dog was reportedly deathly ill – and Saenz-Lopez alleged that the owners were neglecting it. She called them the day after they left for vacation and said the dog, named Puddles, had died. In fact, the dog was alive, but Saenz-Lopez was convinced it would die if back in the original owners' control. So she kept it and cared for it, even renaming it Panchito.

A few months later, an extended family member of the original owners spotted the dog at a local groomer. The original owners accused Saenz-Lopez of stealing, while she claimed they were negligent. A lawsuit was filed by the owners, but Saenz-Lopez pledged to fight for ownership of the dog.

Following that, the mayor hid the dog at her twin sister's home and later filed a report that it had gone missing.

But last week after authorities learned of her plot when a local reporter covering the missing-dog story discovered it at the sister's home.

According to the mayor's sister, a mystery woman found Puddles and dropped if off. The sister has also received a felony charge for concealing the animal.

A civil case will be hear on Feb. 4th, to determine who should be the rightful owner. It convicted of tampering with evidence, Mayor Saenz-Lopez will lose her mayorship and faces 20 years in prison. Her sister faces 10 years inprisonment.

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