They believe it’s the first time in county history to have two brothers at the helm of their departments.
ATASCOSA COUNTY, Texas — Brotherly love in Atascosa County. The new county sheriff and the Pleasanton Police Chief are brothers serving side by side. They believe it’s the first time in county history to have two brothers at the helm of their departments.
Ernest and Jake Guerra have a combined 63 years in law enforcement.
Jake Guerra has only been the Atascosa sheriff for 16 days. He said he’s only the third sheriff in the county, since 1973.
“To me, it is just me and Ernest doing what we do,” Jake said. “Just us working together.”
Ernest Guerra is the top cop in Pleasanton, located in the county. He has been the chief over a year.
“It is a benefit, us working together,” Ernest said. “For example, if I have an area that’s being hit with crime, I will call Jake and we swamp the area with patrol cars.”
The two climbed up the ladder in their respective agencies.
“This is a benefit to the county, to have us both there as brothers at the top of our departments,” Jake said. “We didn’t come into this position by luck. We clawed our way up to the top. We are hometown grown, bored and raised in Atascosa county.”
The Guerra’s said they didn’t plan on serving at the top of their departments at the same time.
“I think it was a little divine intervention,” Jake said.
The brothers said they hope to continue to make their family and the people they protect very proud.
“It is humbling how the community has accepted the situation,” the sheriff said.
They said they do lean on each other and help each other navigate situations. As for their goals, Sheriff Guerra said his two main objectives are school safety and tackling the drug problem. Chief Guerra said his focus is to hire more officers.