A grand jury next week could hear results of an investigation into an alleged attempt by a sheriff's deputy to bribe Deputy Kerry Lane to drop out of the race for Nueces County Sheriff.
District Attorney Carlos Valdez said he wants to avoid any appearance of political favoritism by having a grand jury -- not himself -- decide if the allegations have merit.
"If I did (dismiss the case), the first one who would cry foul would be Mr. Lane," Valdez said.
Valdez said he expects the investigation to be complete by the middle of next week. A grand jury would then hear the case next Friday, he said.
Sheriff's Deputy Bill Jensen has been suspended with pay. Lane alleged that Jensen said Lane would be promoted to Chief Deputy if he would not run for office.
Luby, who hired Jensen in 1993 as his personal internal affairs investigator, is seeking re-election.
Lane and Luby are running against each other in the March 12 Democratic Party primary. Eddie Garza, Joe Ballesteros, Enrique Garcia and Larry Olivarez also are seeking the Democratic nomination.
Jensen is not a candidate.
The sheriff has called Lane's allegation "sour grapes" and denied involvement in the case.
"I'm anxious to get this resolved," Luby said Thursday. "I didn't advise him to make any kind of job offers to anyone. I never have."
Lane said Thursday that "he had no doubt" the case would be presented to a grand jury.
The complaint against Jensen surfaced before Christmas in the form of a letter Lane delivered to Chief Deputy Pete Peralta.
After receiving Lane's letter, Peralta called Luby, who was in Houston for a hearing, and read him the letter. Luby said he then met with Valdez.
Lane has said he never implicated Luby in the case and was angered by television news reports in which Luby called his complaint "ridiculous" and "political mudslinging."
Lane has said he doesn't know why Luby is so upset about the complaint. He said he hasn't accused the sheriff of anything.
"I am sorry that this had to come about in the middle of a campaign, but ... I had no alternative but to follow the letter of the law and report the incident," Lane said Thursday.