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A home on South Timberlane Street in Vidor is the site to an incident involving Orange County Pct. 4 Constable Matt Ortego on Nov. 26. VPD took Ortego to a local hospital for evaluation.
An Orange County constable was taken to a local hospital after an incident involving a 911 call in Vidor.
According to an incident report obtained by The Examiner, four Vidor Police Department (VPD) officers and an Orange County Sheriff’s Office deputy responded to a dispatch call from the ex-wife of Pct. 4 Constable Matt Ortego on Nov. 26.
Kendra Ortego called dispatch at 1:05 a.m., indicating that her child had called her, crying and saying Ortego’s ex-husband pulled a gun out and threatened to shoot her child and other children at a home located on South Timberlane at the intersection of Orange Street, noted the report.
An Orange County Pct. 4 constable’s car and truck were parked at the home on Nov. 28.
According to the document, the caller advised dispatch she was at the home and said she heard ‘a loud bang.”
According to the report, within five minutes of the call, four VPD units and an Orange County Sheriff’s Office (OCSO) deputy were at the scene. The first VPD unit arrived at 1:10 a.m.
More than an hour later, at 2:11 a.m., VPD transported Ortego to St. Elizabeth Hospital in Beaumont, according to the document.
Also involved in the incident was Wendi Ames, according to the report. Ames’ social media account shows a photo of her and the constable with several children at a Houston Astros baseball game.
Vidor Police Chief Rod Carroll told The Examiner the investigation is ongoing at the time and he will not know about charges until the investigation is completed.
A visit to Ortego’s office on Nov. 29 at the Orange County Sub-Courthouse in Vidor was met by a clerk who stated the constable had not been to work this week and was unsure if he would at work later in the week.
When asked if Ortego was still being hospitalized on Nov. 29, Carroll noted that law enforcement would not be advised due to it being a “mental health matter.”
The Examiner inquired in an email to Carroll as to what reason Ortego was not arrested. Carroll replied he “needs an offense and probable cause.”
Ortego, a Vidor native, was elected constable in 2020. The constable’s annual salary is $75,033, according to GovSalaries.com.
According to the Orange County website, the constable may perform patrol, enforce traffic regulations, undertake investigations, arrest lawbreakers, carry out execution of judgment, summon persons to aid him/her in their duties when necessary and to complete juries.
A constable may also seize, impound and sell real and personal property as directed by law. Constables are also an associated member of the Texas Department of Public Safety.
Before being elected constable, Ortego had worked for various agencies in Southeast Texas since 2006. He held positions as a corrections officer with the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office, reserve deputy in the Orange County Pct. 4 Constable Office, Vidor ISD Police Department officer, deputy with the Jasper and Newton County Sheriff’s Offices, and a Criminal Justice teacher at Silsbee High School.
The former Vidor city council member, who graduated from the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Academy, is a certified training officer and law enforcement instructor.