Former SJ cop pleads guilty
Arrestee’s had trouble with the law ever since
By Gregg Wendorf
Advance News Journal
A knee to the groin, ouch, caught on a San Juan PD body cam back in December 2015, while the alleged “perp” was in handcuffs, wasn’t a good look when the video was leaked to local TV station KGBT, which carried this headline when broadcast: “San Juan police officer caught on video using excessive force.”
Approximately eight years later, the case came to a close when the cop with the wayward knee, former SJ Sgt. Juan Pablo Galindo, pled guilty in federal court last Monday (Jan. 8) to a misdemeanor. His sentencing before Federal Judge Ricardo Hinojosa is set for April 17. Max sentence facing him: one year in the federal pen.
In the Beginning
For those who missed the initial story, here’s the background: On Dec. 14th, 2015 at approximately 7:13 p.m., a San Juan police officer was dispatched to the 200 block of Camino Real Road in reference to a runaway female. The mother of the 17-year-old girl said her daughter could be located at a nearby apartment in the company of her 19-year-old boyfriend, Victor Manuel Aguirre.
According to the Probable Cause complaint, after the girl was located, she resisted attempts to return home and was subsequently handcuffed. While the officer was leading her out the front door, he was allegedly sucker- punched from behind by Aguirre, who allegedly clobbered the cop in the back of the head with a balled-up fist and then, followed that up with a punch to the side of the officer’s face. The two reportedly got into a scuffle.
Aguirre allegedly tried to gain hold of the officer’s can of pepper spray and use it against him. Before the altercation could escalate any further, two back-up officers arrived on the scene and helped subdue him.
Meanwhile, Aguirre’s 17-year-old girlfriend, the alleged runaway, was reportedly showing her willingness to cooperate with police by biting one of the officers on his right bicep and on other assorted body parts, which were protected from further alleged dental attacks thanks to the bullet-resistant vest he was wearing. No report on whether she suffered any cracked molars.
Once outside, other SJ PD cars arrived on the scene, screeching to a stop outside the apartment complex. A police body cam shows Aguirre, in handcuffs, saying something to one of the officers on the scene, allegedly cussing them out, one of whom later turned out to be Sgt. “J.P.” Galindo, self-admittedly a no-nonsense, old-school street cop.
The video shows him grabbing hold of Aguirre by the shoulders, who was still in handcuffs, and then giving him a swift knee to the groin. Aguirre drops to the ground, screaming in pain. He was then processed, booked and transported to the county jail.
It was during his eight-day stay there that Victor Manuel Aguirre decided to invoke the services of a local attorney and filed a lawsuit, complaining of shoulder pains and chest pains when he coughed, even though during the booking process, he reportedly never complained of any injury.
J.P. Galindo subsequently left the SJ PD and is no longer a licensed peace officer in the state of Texas.
Aguirre’s Arrest Record
Curious as to what Victor Manuel Aguirre has been up to since his run-in with former San Juan Police Sergeant J.P. Galindo Dec. 14, 2015, a quick look at the Hidalgo County District Clerk’s website shows that he’s been more than a little busy since his San Juan arrest, charged with assaulting a police officer.
Now, 27.5 years old, born July 26, 1996, Aguirre’s so-called rap sheet shows a list of subsequent run-ins with local law enforcement that would keep a lot of lawyers busy, most likely public defenders, working on the taxpayers’ dime. This newspaper didn’t have the time to see how each charge was subsequently adjudicated, but here they are.
# Possession controlled substance — filed Jan. 27, 2016.
# Resisting arrest — filed June 1, 2016.
# Kidnapping and possession of a controlled substance — filed April 13, 2017.
# Assault causes bodily injury — filed April 21, 2017.
# Failure to identify.. fugitive.. intent to give false, info —filed April 21, 2017.
# Possession of a controlled substance — filed April 21, 2017.
# Assault causes bodily harm — filed May 22, 2017.
# Assault causes bodily harm — filed Sept. 6, 2017.
# Possession of marijuana, less than 20 ounces — filed Feb. 27, 2018.
# Possession of a controlled substance, less than 20 ounces — filed April 26, 2018.
# Possession of a controlled substance, less than 1 gram — filed June 26, 2018.
# Possession of a controlled substance, less than 20 ounces — filed March 29, 2019.
# Possession of a controlled substance, less than 1 gram — filed Dec. 16, 2020.
# Resisting arrest — filed Dec. 16, 2020.
# Possession of marijuana, less than two ounces — filed Nov. 10, 2022.
# Possession of a controlled substance — filed July 25, 2023.
All told, over a span of approximately seven years, that equals 17 misdemeanors and three felony charges, not counting a fourth felony charge — burglary of a building — filed June 10, 2014, approximately a month before Victor Manuel Aguirre turned 18 on July 26, 1996.