Gonzales County declares June 1 to be Robert Ynclan Day

The late Robert Ynclan was the first Latino to serve as Gonzales County sheriff and now his legacy will be honored with a special day in his memory.

Gonzales County commissioners voted unanimously Monday, May 8, to proclaim June 1, 2023 — which would have been Ynclan’s 65th birthday — to be Robert Ynclan Day in Gonzales County.

Members of the Ynclan family, including his widow Cynthia and daughter Marrisa — as well as his in-laws, the Porras family — were present for the reading of the proclamation by County Judge Pat Davis, who was Ynclan’s partner when both served as Texas Department of Public Safety troopers.

Davis said the court was taking action now, rather than at their next meeting, because the Ynclan and Porras families will be in Washington, D.C., later this month when Robert Ynclan’s name is unveiled on the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial. There will also be a candlelight vigil on the National Mall in D.C. on Saturday, May 13.

“I worked with Robert for lots of years and most definitely, he is definitely missed,” Davis said of his friend and colleague, with whom he patrolled Gonzales County’s roadways.

Ynclan was born in Dilley and raised on a working cattle ranch in Cotulla until his family moved to Stonewall and the LBJ Ranch, where his father worked. It was there, as Ynclan watched the Secret Service guarding President Lyndon B. Johnson, that Ynclan developed a passion for law enforcement.

Although he garnered several scholarship offers to play collegiate basketball, the tall Texan would attend college to study law enforcement and then served four years as deputy and chief deputy for La Salle County Sheriff’s Office in Cotulla before he attended and graduated from DPS Academy in 1985.

While stationed in Gonzales County, this gentle giant with a big heart would meet the love of his life, Cynthia Porras, at a local grocery store and the two would later wed and have three children: sons Jaime and Marco and daughter Marrisa. The family made Gonzales their home and Robert served for 35 years as a trooper before retiring in 2019.

For four of his years, Ynclan was assigned to overnor Rick Perry’s security detail and he was on assignment when the governor’s mansion was partially destroyed by arson in June 2008. He also worked with former DPS colleague Michael Escalante’s security company providing personal protection to several high-profile clients, including Robin Williams, Will Ferrell, Sheryl Crow and Ben Stiller.

In 2020, Ynclan ran for sheriff and won both the Republican Party nomination and the general election. When he was sworn into office on Jan. 1, 2021, he became the first Latino to ever serve the county as sheriff. Sadly, Ynclan would contract COVID-19 and passed away from the illness in September 2021, less than nine months into his first term in office.