BRYAN, Texas (KBTX) – The attorney representing Bryan Mayor Bobby Gutierrez and his private business, La Pistola Cattle Company, released a statement Thursday addressing allegations that surfaced on social media that he is seeking fines to release a plane maker. emergency landing in late December at an area near Easterwood Airport.
The owner of the plane, Borrel Rene Jean Luc, of Marksville, Louisiana, says he was denied access to his plane to pay $250,000.
Gutierrez’s attorney says his involvement in the incident was as a private citizen and rancher, not in his capacity as Mayor of Bryan. The field where the plane landed is owned by the Bryan Business Council, a non-profit organization that leases the land to Rafter D Genetics, LLC, a private company specializing in the fertilization and transfer of cattle embryos.
“When Mr. Borrel, the business of Mr. Gutierrez and his cattle company, La Pistola Cattle Company (“La Pistola”), in conjunction with their paid consultant Rafter D, were collecting cattle from the BBC property to be placed in the lab and to begin the process of embryo collection for the purpose of selling the embryos to its clients,” said Gutierrez’s attorney Matthew Doss. .
The statement went on to explain that La Pistola Cattle Company suffered significant financial losses due to the disruption caused by the plane landing and that Gutierrez wanted to resolve the dispute with the owner of the plane and its insurance company in an amicable and fair manner as soon as possible. as possible.
“The breeding and embryo transfer business carried out by La Pistola Cattle Company and Rafter D is an expensive, time-consuming process. Unfortunately, Mr. Gutierrez and his business La Pistola Cattle Company were financially harmed (now over $269,700.00) due to the reckless behavior of Mr. Borrel, After the plane crash, Mr. Gutierrez advised Mr. Borrel and his insurance company that his desire to recover the great financial loss of his business.”
The mayor’s lawyer went on to say that Gutierrez never prevented Borrel or anyone else from returning his plane to the area and that “any reporting to the contrary is false and potentially defamatory.”
“After the plane crash, Mr. Gutierrez, although it was not his responsibility to do so, made several attempts to coordinate the return of the plane by Mr. Borrel and the contractor of Mr. Each of those times, the retrieval contractor canceled the retrieval through no fault of Mr. Gutierrez, La Pistola, Rafter D, or the BBC.”
“It has never happened that Mr. Gutierrez or La Pistola Cattle Company ‘rescued’ or ‘hijacked’ the plane of Mr. Borrel to pay money, which was appreciated by inexperienced Internet bloggers. Mr. Gutierrez never prevented Mr. Borrel or his representatives from picking up his plane at the BBC site.”
This statement also highlighted that cowboys and ranchers rushed to help the pilot after the emergency.
“After the plane crash, La Pistola’s cowboys immediately stopped their mission of providing assistance to Mr. Borrel and worked with the FAA and other emergency responders to transport the cattle.”
The statement also suggested that the pilot’s decision-making ability was called into question when he had to go down.
“As Mr. Borrel was leaving the airport in Austin, Texas, Mr. Borrel reported that he noticed problems with his plane’s airspeed. Mr. Borrel refused to declare an emergency when asked by air traffic controllers at least twice. Declaring a state of emergency would have allowed Mr. Borrel to land on the nearest runway available to him. Instead, Mr. Borrel continued towards College Station, Texas, and eventually reached his emergency stop at the BBC site. Mr. Borrel has suspected that he crashed his plane due to engine failure,” the statement continued.
“It is important for the public to understand that the involvement of Mr. Gutierrez in this unfortunate incident with Mr. Borrel was a private citizen and rancher, not in his capacity as Mayor of Bryan, Texas. Mr. Gutierrez is focused on working hard to serve the people of Bryan, Texas in addressing the needs of the community and promoting the growth and development of the City,” said Doss.
Borrel Rene Jean Luc had planned to have a virtual interview with KBTX on Thursday afternoon but chose to cancel the meeting following the guidance of his lawyers.
The Bryan Business Council said Thursday that “the owner of the aircraft has partnered with Lone Star Retrieval to remove the aircraft from the BBC site and the BBC expects the aircraft to be removed sometime during the week of March 20-25, 2023.”
The BBC also shared this statement: “The BBC has acquired this property to develop future opportunities that are consistent with the BBC’s purpose. The BBC has decided that it is in its best interest to lease the property for agricultural purposes so that the property is assessed for tax purposes as open space (agricultural use) rather than assessed at market value. Annual income tax is important. The BBC also appreciates having a tenant who uses the space to avoid waste, overruns, and other problems that can arise in an undeveloped open world. You will note that a 10-year lease is subject to the landlord’s right to terminate at any time with 30 days’ notice. This lease provision gives the BBC flexibility should there be an opportunity to develop all or any part of the property. “
According to lease documents issued by attorneys for the Bryan Business Council, Rafter D Genetics, LLC was granted grazing rights on the property for $1.00 per year. When asked if the council has other lease agreements like this, the council’s attorney, Mike Gentry, said the Bryan Business Council does not have any other grazing leases. Earlier this week, the Bryan Business Council provided more information to KBTX about its role in the city’s economic development and said that it is “unique and distinct from the City of Bryan” and “built for various economic development purposes including purchasing and holding land for future multi-family housing, commercial, manufacturing , and industries.”
Below is the full statement released Tuesday to KBTX by Doss & Rodriguez Attorneys at Law on behalf of Mayor Gutierrez and La Pistola Cattle Company, LLC. This is a developing story. KBTX will update this story as new information is independently verified or confirmed by our newsroom.
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