JACINTO CITY, Texas – A former Jacinto City Little League president is accused of stealing $17,000 from the organization.
Jacinto City police arrested Christopher Vasquez on Tuesday afternoon at Hobby Airport after he flew back to Houston from California.
"He was shocked. I don't think he expected to see me there at the airport," said Sgt. Detective Betty Silva, with the Jacinto City police.
Silva said Coca-Cola wrote a check for $16,908 to the league in September 2017. Police claim Vasquez cashed the check and signed it himself.
"It is a terrible thing to steal from children, but to steal this amount of money from children, that is not good," Silva said.
Vasquez is charged with theft.
As he was being transported to the Harris County Jail by Jacinto City police, he told KPRC Channel 2 News, "I'll have my day in court, you know? Big misunderstanding with Coca-Cola and San Jacinto Little League. You know there's a lot going on and for them to not accept the check."
Police said the league had tried to get the money from Vasquez for months, and sent a demand letter to Vasquez, but heard nothing, so they filed a police report.
Vasquez told KPRC that he has a cashier’s check for the league, and he was coming back to Houston to give them the check.
“This guy misappropriated this money , he had plenty of time to give it back and he didn’t,” Silva said.
Court documents state the new president, who became the league president in October, found “discrepancies regarding property and finances.”
The court record went on to state there was missing baseball equipment and missing sponsor money with nothing in the bank records to support deposits.
The court documents also state there were numerous purchases by Vasquez that were not authorized and money was spent from the JCLL for items not related to the league.
Vasquez is currently on probation for a criminal mischief charge. Court records show the former president stole turf from a business along Tomball Parkway in 2016.