Sanchez named Lubbock County Precinct 3 constable following Garcia's resignation

There's a new constable in Lubbock County.

Jose A. Sanchez began serving in the role of Precinct 3 constable Monday after the Lubbock County Commissioners Court appointed him to the position.

He was sworn in during a regular commissioners court meeting Monday morning. His term will last through the end of 2024 and he is running unopposed in the March primaries.

Sanchez replaces longtime Constable Marina L. Garcia, who resigned from the elected position effective Friday. In a December letter to the court, she cited medical conditions as the reason for her departure.

Garcia was first elected constable in 1996, taking a hiatus from 2008 to 2012 to deal with health problems. Garcia's second election in 2012 came some 10 months after controversial Constable Ronnie Vasquez, who filled the role from 2008 to 2011, resigned after being arrested twice during his final year in office.

Precinct 3 latest of several recent constable's office changes

Sanchez is the third law-enforcement officer in as many months to be appointed to a Lubbock County constable's office.

Joe Pinson was named Precinct 4 constable on Dec. 4, 2023 to replace Tony Jackson, who resigned in September. Jackson cited a new career opportunity and mounting political pressure he says makes the job "untenable" as reasons for his resignation.

Pinson previously served eight years as Precinct 2 constable until he was unseated by current Precinct 2 Constable Jody Barnes in a 2016 election. Pinson will face former New Deal police chief Michael Hobson in the March Republican primary.

The court also recently appointed Lubbock County's first-ever deputy constable. In November, commissioners accepted Constable Paul Hanna's request to name Janet Calderon deputy constable for Precinct 1.

This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Sanchez named Precinct 3 constable following Garcia's resignation