The acting Wilmer police chief and a newly assigned Wilmer city councilmember were arrested this month in connection with an alleged racist confrontation at a gas station on July 22, 2026.
Two Wilmer city officials were arrested this month following an investigation into racially charged threats allegedly made at a gas station, according to arrest warrant affidavits obtained Tuesday by The Dallas Morning News.
Moses Garcia, 53, elected to the city council in May, was arrested Monday by Wilmer police after he was linked to a July 22 disturbance at a Shell gas station. He faces a terroristic threat charge.
Wilmer police allege acting police Chief Jesus Mancillas, 57, attempted to take control of the investigation into Garcia’s actions and interfered with the collection of evidence, according to his affidavit. Wilmer is in Dallas County about 15 miles southeast of Dallas.
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Mancillas was appointed as acting chief last week, according to a statement from Wilmer Interim City Administrator Frank Posada, and was expected to provide leadership and oversight as the department addressed ongoing administrative issues. He is accused of inserting himself into an active criminal investigation and preventing the lead detective from performing assigned duties.
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“I had no knowledge that the Wilmer Police Department was contemplating or carrying out an arrest involving Mr. Mancillas,” Posada said. “He was assisting the city of Wilmer at my request, and I am disappointed by what has occurred.”
According to surveillance video footage described in Garcia’s affidavit, Garcia arrived at the gas station in a Tesla and began talking with a man and an employee.
In the footage, the group can be seen continuing their conversation until Garcia allegedly calls the man an explicit name. Garcia then begins making statements regarding his influence on Wilmer’s city council, according to the descriptions in the affidavit.
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Garcia claimed responsibility for “removing the city’s police chief, mayor, and other city personnel,” according to the affidavit. He continued making statements indicating he had influence and authority within the city before he motioned toward the man’s face, “gestured toward his own crotch area, and walked away” before cursing at the man again.
Garcia referred to the man using what sounded like a racial slur during the confrontation, according to the affidavit. He then was restrained by another man who had gotten out of his Tesla.
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Police said throughout the footage the man was not seen making threats or acting aggressively toward Garcia. The footage and witness statements led investigators to believe Garcia threatened the man and made him fearful of imminent bodily injury.
While police were attempting to gather the footage from the gas station, according to Mancillas’ affidavit, there was a technical issue with the video. When a detective returned to the gas station for another copy, Mancillas was there in plain clothes and not displaying a badge or carrying a department-issued firearm, the affidavit said.
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The detective and Mancillas went into the gas station together to retrieve another copy of the footage, which Mancillas then took and said he’d now personally handle and control the investigation. Wilmer police’s Criminal Investigations Division also received a later email along the same lines.
The email also said all evidence, additional information or leads must go directly to Mancillas. The email asked that evidence be “securely held and handed directly… or slid under his secure door” if Mancillas was not in the office, according to the affidavit.
As of Tuesday, neither individual could be found in Dallas County jail records, and it remained unclear if the two had retained attorneys.
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The News contacted Wilmer police and Dallas County Commissioner John Wiley Price, who represents the area, for further details or comment and didn’t immediately hear back.
The city of Wilmer’s attorney will be providing guidance on the charges, Posada said, and the city will continue to cooperate with authorities as the investigation continues.