Behind bars: Pair accused of pocketing church fundraiser money arrested

By DAVID LOPEZ
editor@sbnewspaper.com

Two women accused of pocketing money from a church fundraiser were arrested by Brownsville police Wednesday afternoon on charges of credit card abuse. Mary Lou Arredondo and Roxanna Ruby Rubio both had an active arrest warrant as published in a Brownsville Police Department statement.

According to Saint Theresa Catholic Church secretary Norma Castillo, the pair became involved in selling raffle tickets for the San Benito congregation on July 15 up until Aug. 19, after which they pocketed more than $3,000. The duo used an electronic card reader when charging people for the $5 tickets, adding zeros to charge them $50 to $500, as reported in last week’s issue of the NEWS.

According to Brownsville Police Department online archives, Arredondo has been charged for similar incidents before, including robbery and credit card abuse in cases ranging from 2011, 2013, and 2017.

Detective David Navarro was assigned to the case but as of press time has not returned calls from the NEWS.

However, the Brownsville City Jail confirmed that both women were being held at the city jail, awaiting arraignment at the municipal court Thursday at 9 a.m.

Although the pair were “selling” tickets for a San Benito church, all of their victims were from Brownsville, leading church leaders to file their report in said city.