9 Dems Indicted for Vote Harvesting in Texas

KSAT Investigates received the indictment paperwork of nine suspects, including a former candidate for the Texas House and two former mayors, in connection with a massive state-led election investigation on Thursday afternoon.

81st Judicial District Attorney Audrey Gossett Louis confirmed the following people were indicted on Monday in connection with the investigation:

• Former Bexar County Democratic Party Chair and former San Antonio mayoral candidate Juan Manuel Medina on two counts of vote harvesting

• Former Pearsall Mayor Petra Davina Trevino on one count of vote harvesting

• Former Dilley council member Inelda Rodriguez on three counts of vote harvesting

• Former Dilley Mayor Mary Ann Obregon on two counts of vote harvesting

• Rachel Leal on one count of vote harvesting

• Former Texas House candidate Cecilia Castellano on two counts of vote harvesting

• Susanna Flores Carrizales on one count of vote harvesting

• Precinct 3 Frio County Commissioner Raul Carrizales III on one count of vote harvesting

• Pearsall ISD Board Secretary Maricela Garcia Benavides on one count of vote harvesting

Seven suspects, who do not include Medina and Rodriguez, turned themselves in to Frio County authorities on Wednesday.

The Frio County Sheriff’s Office confirmed to KSAT Investigates on Thursday that Medina and Rodriguez have since turned themselves in.

In all, 15 people have been formally charged in connection with the investigation. All have since bonded out of jail, Frio County officials confirmed to KSAT.

The state considers vote harvesting charges a third-degree felony.

Juan Manuel Medina

According to his indictment, Medina is accused of vote harvesting on behalf of Cecilia Castellano, who ran as a Democrat in the 2024 election for the District 80 seat in the Texas House of Representatives.

Documents accused Medina of knowingly providing “compensation or other benefit” to Rachel Leal and Inelda Rodriguez in February 2024 in exchange for “vote-harvesting services.”

Medina, who turned himself in on Thursday, has since bonded out of the Frio County Jail.

Petra Davina Trevino

According to her indictment, Trevino is accused of “directly and knowingly providing compensation” to a woman named Cheryl Denise Castillo in exchange for vote-harvesting services.

Records in previous KSAT Investigates reporting of this story show that Castillo died in October 2024.

Inelda Rodriguez

Rodriguez, a former Dilley city council member, is facing the most vote-harvesting charges among the group of nine who surrendered to authorities this week: three.

According to her indictment, Rodriguez is accused of providing vote-harvesting services in exchange for compensation from Juan Manuel Medina on or about three separate occasions: Feb. 28, 2024; May 19, 2024; and May 25, 2024.

Documents show Rodriguez received compensation via mobile money-sharing applications Zelle and Cash App.

Medina acted as a third-party source on behalf of then-Texas House candidate Cecilia Castellano.

Rodriguez, who turned herself in on Thursday, has since bonded out of the Frio County Jail.

Mary Ann Obregon

Obregon, a former mayor of Dilley, is accused of two vote-harvesting charges.

In her indictment, Obregon is accused of providing direct vote-harvesting services to Cecilia Castellano on or about two separate occasions: Feb. 28, 2024, and May 25, 2024.

Obregon is also alleged to have received compensation from mobile money-sharing applications such as Zelle or Cash App. Juan Manuel Medina, who acted on Cecilia Castellano’s behalf, is accused of paying Obregon.

Rachel Leal

In her indictment, Leal is accused of providing vote-harvesting services to Cecilia Castellano and receiving money for that work.

Documents show she allegedly harvested votes “on or about Feb. 20, 2024.”

Cecilia Castellano

Cecilia Castellano, who ran in the 2024 election for the District 80 seat in the Texas House of Representatives, is facing two vote-harvesting charges.

According to her indictment, Castellano is accused of providing compensation or other benefits in separate instances on Feb. 23, 2024.

Court documents indicate the compensation went from Medina, who acted on Castellano’s behalf, to Rachel Leal, who then transferred the money to Cheryl Denise Castillo in exchange for receiving vote-harvesting services.

Castellano is also accused of providing compensation to former Dilley city council member Inelda Rodriguez in exchange for vote-harvesting services.

Castellano later lost the Texas House race to Republican and former Uvalde Mayor Don McLaughlin in November 2024.

Susanna Flores Carrizales

Carrizales, who is facing one vote-harvesting charge, is accused of providing a payment to Cheryl Denise Castillo “on or about” Dec. 22, 2023, in exchange for vote-harvesting services, according to her indictment.

Raul Carrizales III

Raul Carrizales III, who is Susanna Flores Carrizales’ son, has been accused of providing a payment to Cheryl Denise Castillo in exchange for vote-harvesting services, his indictment indicates.

Raul Carrizales III allegedly provided the payment to his mother, Susanna, who served as a third party. Susanna Carrizales then provided that payment to Cheryl Denise Castillo, according to court records.

Maricela Garcia Benavides

Benavides, a member of the Pearsall ISD school board, is accused of using Cash App to transfer funds to a woman, who then transferred them to Cheryl Denise Castillo, in exchange for vote-harvesting services.

According to her indictment, Benavides provided the compensation “on or about” March 24, 2023.

While the woman was identified in court records, KSAT Investigates is not identifying her because she has not been charged with any crime at the time of publication.

According to a district website, Benavides’ term on the school board ends in May 2026.

The previous six arrests in this case

In May, KSAT Investigates broke the news of the first six arrests, which included the following prominent Frio County elected officials:

• Frio County Judge Rochelle Camacho on three counts of vote harvesting

• Pearsall City Council member Ramiro Trevino on one count of vote harvesting

• Pearsall Independent School District board member Adriann Ramirez on three counts of vote harvesting

• Former Frio County Elections Administrator Carlos Segura on one count of tampering with evidence

• Pearsall City Council member Racheal Garza on one count of vote harvesting

• Rosa Rodriguez, who the 81st Judicial District Attorney said is an alleged vote harvester, on two counts of vote harvesting

These suspects entered not guilty pleas during a May hearing and are expected back in a Frio County courtroom in July.

The arrests are being appealed to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Last year, the court ruled that State Attorney General Ken Paxton was allowed to continue investigating alleged vote harvesting cases.