County judge suspended without pay

By Breyana Segura - Chief Staff Writer | May 13, 2025

Following indictment, arrest in vote harvesting case…

Camacho among six charged after attorney general’s investigation

Rochelle Camacho

Facing three felony charges, Frio County Judge Rochelle Camacho has been suspended from all duties without pay by the Texas State Commission on Judicial Conduct effective May 12.
Records filed at the Frio County Jail show Camacho turned herself in to authorities on Friday, May 9, a week after a Frio County grand jury handed down three indictments for vote harvesting. She was released on three $2,000 bonds that day.
The judge, who has taken a leave of absence from office due to an ongoing medical issue, was the last of the six present and former elected and appointed officials and local residents to be arrested on indictments handed down on May 1.
Former Elections Administrator Carlos Segura, newly re-elected Pearsall City Councilors Ramiro Trevino and Racheal Sepulveda Garza, Pearsall IISD Board Trustee Roselle Adriann Ramirez, and Rosa Rodriguez were arrested Friday, May 2, for their alleged roles in a vote harvesting scheme.

Trevino also serves as the human resources director for the county government.
Hon. Gary Steel, chair of the State Commission on Judicial Conduct, signed the order for Judge Camacho’s suspension on Monday, May 12. The order remains in effect until the charges against Camacho are dismissed, the judge is acquitted of all charges in the indictment, or if the commission chooses to reconsider the suspension.
According to the order, the commission received information on Camacho’s indictment on Thursday, May 8.
Pursuant to the suspension order, according to the commission, “Camacho is prohibited from sitting or serving as the Frio County judge pending the resolution of her criminal case.”
The suspension applies to her ability to preside over commissioners’ court and oversee the county’s day-to-day operations.
The case is being investigated by election integrity investigators of the Texas Attorney General’s Office and developed over the course of two years following the last county government election. During that election, Camacho prevailed over a field of candidates to fill the seat vacated by retiring County Judge Arnulfo Luna.
Attorney General’s Office Sgt. Donald Smith is spearheading the investigation. A report on the case indicates that during a round of interviews in July 2023 local residents stated that Rodriguez, Camacho and Ramirez assisted in the election process by picking up mail-in ballots from voters in the Pine Hills Estates II. Additionally, a number of those interviewed claimed they received mail-in ballots but had not completed applications for voting by mail.
A subpoena for the CashApp used by Denise Castillo, the woman Camacho and Ramirez allegedly hired to assist in their campaigns, showed payments made by the pair close to their respective elections.
According to the indictment filed at the 81st Judicial District Attorney’s Office, Camacho faces three third-degree felony charges for vote harvesting. The indictment alleges that Camacho paid the daughter of Castillo for vote harvesting in May 2022. In September that year, the county judge allegedly paid her daughter, who in turn paid Castillo for vote harvesting.
Furthermore, according to the indictment, Camacho paid Castillo in April 2023 on behalf of Ramirez for vote harvesting.