Task force make Hungerford bust
By BARRY HALVORSON bhalvorson@journal-spectator.com

Members of the district attorney's drug task force backed up by special units from the Wharton County Sheriff's Office and Wharton Police Department recovered 7 grams of crack cocaine while executing a search warrant at a Hungerford home late Wednesday night.

Sheriff's Investigator Tommy Johnson said David Ballejo, 29, was arrested at his 7502 Juanita home after the warrant was executed around 11 p.m. Ballejo is charged with possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute.

In addition, he is charged with felony theft of a firearm after a .380 semiautomatic pistol was recovered and found to have been taken in a burglary. And with six children in the home, including five under the age of 10, Ballejo was charged with felony endangerment of a child.

Bond for Ballejo was set at $20,000 on each of the three charges for a total of $60,000.

As of Friday morning, he was still in custody, a Wharton County Jail spokesperson said.

Ballejo's wife was present at the home. She and the children were not taken into custody.

Johnson said the warrant was issued by Wharton County Precinct 1 Justice of the Peace Jeanette Krenek, adding they recovered what was outlined in the warrant.

"We found the cocaine and drug paraphernalia like was outlined in the warrant," Johnson said. "The handgun was just a bonus."

Johnson estimated the cocaine would have a street value between $100 and $125 per gram.

"People don't realize how much dope there is in a gram," he said. "Seven grams is close to being a handful."

The warrant was based on a lengthy investigation conducted by the Wharton County District Attorney's Task Force, which is made up of Johnson, Wharton Police Detective Grady Smith and El Campo Police Detective Wayne Denson. They executed the warrant with back up from the Wharton Sheriff's STAR team and the Wharton Police ERT team.

"You go in with force to discourage someone from resisting," Johnson said. "In some cases, they are still going to fight you. We also knew the children were going to be in the house and we included that in our planning.

"Knowing something like that makes us take additional precautions for the kids safety (so) they aren't endangered," he added, "In this case, the suspect was taken without incident and no injuries. It was a very well done deal."