A private security company previously reported to be co-owned by Presidio County Sheriff Danny Dominguez and another employee of his office is actively advertising services across West Texas, raising unanswered questions about its ownership, customers and separation from the public law-enforcement agency Dominguez oversees.
Big Bend Security LLC, based in Marfa, advertises professional security services in Marfa, Alpine, Fort Davis, Fort Stockton and Presidio.
Its website says coverage may also be available in Monahans, Odessa, Midland, Lubbock and Amarillo, depending on staffing and the scope of an assignment.
“Big Bend Security routinely supports clients throughout West Texas and may be able to provide coverage,” the company says on its service-area page.
The company describes itself as being built for the “unique demands of West Texas” and says it is committed to providing professional and reliable security services wherever clients need them.
The website establishes that Big Bend Security remains an active, public-facing business serving a large geographic area. It does not identify the company’s owners or leadership by name.
Marfa Public Radio reported in 2016 that Dominguez co-owned the private security company with Shanna Elmore, another employee of the Presidio County Sheriff’s Office.
Elmore remains employed by the Sheriff’s Office and is currently listed as Dominguez’s executive assistant.
That means the business was reported to be co-owned by the county’s elected sheriff and another employee working inside the law-enforcement agency he supervises.
Big Bend Reporter has contacted Dominguez and asked for more information about Big Bend Security, including its current ownership, customers, employees, government-related work and safeguards against potential conflicts of interest.
Dominguez has not responded or returned calls.
The publication has not independently established whether the company’s formal ownership structure has changed since the 2016 report.
Community members have told Big Bend Reporter that Dominguez’s wife, Ida Dominguez, owns or operates the company. The publication has not independently verified her ownership or management role.
Private business ownership by a sheriff or county employee is not, by itself, evidence of wrongdoing. The existence of the company does not establish that Dominguez, Elmore or anyone else has violated a law or county policy.
But ownership of a private security company by a sheriff and another employee of his office creates legitimate questions about who hires the company, how it obtains work and whether public authority, law-enforcement relationships or government resources could benefit a private financial interest.
Those questions are particularly relevant because Big Bend Security operates in the same small West Texas communities served by Dominguez and neighboring law-enforcement agencies.
The company’s website does not disclose whether its customers include local governments, county vendors, government contractors, hotels, bars, event organizers, ranches, energy companies or other businesses that may interact with the Presidio County Sheriff’s Office.
It is also unclear whether Elmore or other Sheriff’s Office employees work for Big Bend Security outside their county employment, whether they receive compensation from the company or what written policies govern that outside work.
No evidence reviewed by Big Bend Reporter shows that county vehicles, equipment, personnel, time or confidential information have been used by Big Bend Security.
The publication has also found no evidence that Dominguez or Elmore has taken an official action to benefit one of the company’s clients.
The questions concern the potential for a conflict and the lack of publicly available information needed to determine whether one exists.
A conflict could arise, for example, if the company accepted money from a person, business or contractor whose interests could be affected by the sheriff’s enforcement decisions, cooperation or discretionary authority.
Questions could also arise if prospective customers believed that hiring a company associated with the county sheriff could provide favorable access to local law enforcement.
There is currently no evidence establishing that either situation has occurred.
Conflict dispute dates to 2016
Dominguez’s association with the company drew public attention in 2016 during a dispute over Presidio County’s conflict-of-interest policy.
Marfa Public Radio reporter Travis Bubenik reported that Dominguez refused to sign the county policy despite concerns from county commissioners and then-County Judge Cinderela Guevara that his refusal could affect federal law-enforcement grant funding.
Dominguez argued that the policy did not apply to him because he was an elected official rather than a county employee.
Guevara questioned why he would refuse to sign a conflict-of-interest policy if he had no conflict to disclose.
According to the report, Dominguez acknowledged co-owning the private security company with Elmore. He said he did not use county vehicles or other public resources for the business and denied that the arrangement created a conflict.
The disagreement was not simply about whether Dominguez was legally permitted to own a private business. It concerned whether an elected official administering public authority and receiving grant-supported resources should formally acknowledge policies intended to identify conflicts between private financial interests and public duties.
Nearly a decade later, Big Bend Security remains active, Elmore remains employed by the Sheriff’s Office, and the company is marketing its services throughout West Texas.
Its current ownership, customer base and financial relationship to Dominguez and Elmore remain unclear.
Previous reporting has raised questions about Dominguez’s transparency
The lack of response comes after other Big Bend Reporter stories involving Dominguez’s conduct, conditions at county property and his office’s handling of complaints and routine media inquiries.
In 2023, Big Bend Reporter investigated the storage of used motor oil, waste fluids and trash behind the Presidio County Sheriff’s Office and jail.
The publication documented more than 50 quarts of used motor oil stored in five-quart containers, barrels believed to contain automotive fluids and an unidentified waste-fluid barrel exposed to the elements, along with other debris on the property.
After the condition of the site was reported, much of the material was removed. Big Bend Reporter estimated at the time that approximately 90% of the visible debris had been cleaned up.
During the reporting process, Big Bend Reporter obtained Dominguez’s county-issued cellphone number from a county official and called him seeking comment about the conditions.
After the reporter identified himself and explained why he was calling, Dominguez said the caller had reached the wrong number.
The number was Dominguez’s county-issued phone.
Big Bend Reporter later filed a formal complaint accusing Dominguez of making a false statement to avoid answering questions about possible environmental violations involving the improper storage of used oil and trash behind the Sheriff’s Office and jail.
That interaction remains relevant because Dominguez is again declining to answer questions involving a private business tied to his public position.
Big Bend Reporter has also previously reported on a citizen complaint filed against Dominguez in April 2022.
The complaint accused the sheriff of unsafe driving, behaving in a rude or belligerent manner and failing to clearly identify himself by name and agency during a traffic-related encounter.
The publication’s reporting focused not only on the allegations but also on questions about whether the complaint received a meaningful investigation or response from the office Dominguez oversees.
The allegations in that complaint were not findings of misconduct. They nevertheless added to broader concerns about accountability when complaints involve the elected official at the top of the department.
Taken together, the prior incidents do not prove that Dominguez has a conflict involving Big Bend Security.
They do, however, provide context for why his refusal to answer basic questions about the company creates additional concern.
The questions are not based solely on rumor. They involve a company he publicly acknowledged co-owning, another current employee of his office and a previous dispute over a conflict-of-interest policy.
Sheriff’s Office recently said it would not deal with publication
The relationship between Dominguez’s office and Big Bend Reporter has remained strained.
Earlier this month, the publication contacted the Sheriff’s Office while attempting to verify booking information concerning the arrest of Jeff Davis County Republican Party Chair-Elect Jake Knobloch.
The booking information released by the Sheriff’s Office identified the arrested person as “Jason Knoblock.” Because the surname differed by one letter, the publication sought confirmation before reporting that the record referred to Knobloch.
According to recordings reviewed by Big Bend Reporter, a dispatcher twice told the publication, “Mr. Flash, we don’t deal with you anymore.”
The dispatcher did not answer the question or direct the inquiry to another employee.
Lt. Estevan Marquez later reviewed the information, confirmed that the spelling was an error and said it would be corrected.
Marquez also apologized for the dispatcher’s behavior and said he would discuss it with the sheriff.
Big Bend Reporter later published an editorial praising Marquez for responding professionally, checking the facts and helping ensure that the public received accurate information.
The incident demonstrated that the office was capable of handling a routine media inquiry professionally, even after another employee initially refused assistance because of the identity of the publication.
Public officials are not required to agree with news coverage or like the reporters asking questions. They remain responsible, however, for conducting public business professionally and providing accurate public information without discriminating based on whether prior coverage has been favorable.
Questions remain about ownership and clients
Dominguez has served as Presidio County sheriff since 1997, giving him nearly three decades of authority and institutional influence within the county.
That lengthy tenure, combined with his reported ownership of a private security company with another Sheriff’s Office employee, makes transparency especially important.
Among the questions submitted to Dominguez are whether he and Elmore continue to own Big Bend Security, whether Ida Dominguez has an ownership or management role, whether other Sheriff’s Office employees work for the company and whether it serves government agencies, county vendors or businesses that regularly interact with law enforcement.
Big Bend Reporter also asked what policies prevent the use of county time, uniforms, equipment, vehicles, information or official relationships for the company’s benefit.
Dominguez has not provided answers.
The company’s lack of ownership information on its website does not establish misconduct. Privately held businesses are not generally required to publicly list every client or financial detail.
But when a private security company has been tied to a sitting sheriff and another employee of his office, disclosure about ownership, customers and safeguards is necessary for the public to evaluate whether private financial interests overlap with public responsibilities.
Big Bend Reporter is continuing to seek business filings, private-security licensing records, assumed-name certificates, county disclosures and other public documents that may clarify Big Bend Security’s ownership and operations.
Until those records are obtained or Dominguez responds, several basic questions remain unanswered: Who currently owns Big Bend Security, who hires it, whether Sheriff’s Office employees receive income from it and what protections exist to keep private business interests separate from public law-enforcement authority.
Big Bend Reporter will update this story if Dominguez, Elmore, Ida Dominguez or a representative of Big Bend Security provides additional information.
