Former city councilman charged with drunken driving

McALLEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) — A former member of the Progreso City Council was charged with driving while intoxicated last week.

The McAllen Police Department arrested Javier “Harvey” Morales, 29, of Progreso on May 8.

Morales, who served on the City Council from 2019 to 2024, declined to comment.

Former Progreso City Councilman Javier "Harvey" Morales. (Photo courtesy of the Hidalgo County Sheriff's Office.)

Officers arrested Morales at 2:16 a.m. on May 8, when they witnessed a black 2024 GMC Yukon driving down Business 83 without any headlights on, according to a police report filed with the McAllen Municipal Court.

They stopped the Yukon on the 800 block of West Ash Avenue. Morales was behind the wheel.

He smelled like alcohol, according to the police report, and had slurred speech.

“I asked Javier to step out of the vehicle,” one of the two officers wrote in her report, “and once he did I noticed Javier swaying back and forth as he tried to maintain his balance.”

Morales admitted to drinking two Michelob beers, according to the police report. Officers asked him to perform a standard field sobriety test, which included walking in a straight line and standing on one foot.

He failed.

Officers charged Morales with driving while intoxicated, a Class B misdemeanor.

Morales refused to take a breath test, according to the police report, and declined to answer any additional questions.

Officers transported Morales to a nearby hospital, where a medical technician took blood samples. Results may not be available for months.

It wasn’t the first time the McAllen Police Department had arrested Morales on a drunken driving charge.

In March 2017, a police officer stopped Morales in the same area, according to documents released by the Hidalgo County Clerk’s Office.

Morales said he’d been attending a “get together” at a friend’s house, according to a police report, but denied that he’d been drinking.

Officers charged him with driving while intoxicated, a Class B misdemeanor.

Hidalgo County Court-at-Law Judge Omar Maldonado dismissed the case after Morales completed a pre-trial diversion program.