For more than a decade, Jesus Reyes has rented the same pavilion in Rodriguez Park on the West Side for his family to enjoy on Easter Sunday, always making sure to reserve it a year in advance.

This year was no different; Reyes reserved the space April 27, 2018, county officials said.

But when he and his relatives arrived on Easter morning to set up for the day’s festivities, Bexar County Constable Michelle Barrientes Vela appeared in uniform and told them they were mistaken.

The pavilion, Vela told him, was reserved for her family.

Reyes refused to move.

A park manager confirmed Reyes had reserved the pavilion and had not “canceled,” as Vela was insisting. The constable then required Reyes to pay her and her chief deputy $50 an hour for security as her own family regrouped at a nearby BBQ pit.

When Reyes balked, the constable “advised him that there were new rules, and that the last person in charge was crooked,” a Sheriff’s Office report on the incident states.

For the rest of the day, the 48-year-old truck driver shelled out cash to the constable and her chief deputy, Anthony Castillo, until he paid $300 and ran out of money. Vela and Castillo each pocketed half of the payments.

Reyes said that, at around 7 p.m., one of Vela’s deputies told him that he and his family had to leave the park.

“My wife just said, ‘Just pay her the money before we get ran off,’” Reyes said. “Some of these law enforcement agents, you’re not going to beat them. And when I find out she’s the boss, who am I going to go complain to? It’s like, I’m going to complain to the boss who just extorted the money out of you? I’m not going to win.”

Vela insisted the arrangement was appropriate because some of Reyes’ family members were drinking alcohol.

“If they have alcohol present, we have to have security out there because of TABC requirements,” she said.

But county officials said Vela overstepped her authority.

On ExpressNews.com: Vela has feuded with other county officials

“That is not the way this is supposed to work,” Bexar Heritage and Parks Department Director Betty Bueché said. “We did have security at virtually every other county park. At Rodriguez Park, Constable Vela decided to be there herself, and that was not part of the plan that we had.”

The county, Bueché said, already had arranged to pay peace officers to provide security at all county parks on Easter Sunday — at a rate of $38 an hour. Mark Olivares, a Harlandale Independent School District police officer, coordinated security for the county.

Vela had bridled against that arrangement.

“When she contacted me, she was very hostile to me over the phone,” Olivares said. “She said, ‘Who do you think you are? This is my park.’”

Olivares relented, allowing Vela to provide security at Rodriguez Park. But the officers at the other county parks did not charge Easter revelers for security, Olivares said.

“Since officers already were on-site, we didn’t charge people at the pavilions,” he said. “That’s the county working with the clients, especially on Easter Sunday. There’s no need to be charging if you already have officers out there to begin with.”

Bexar County Commissioner Justin Rodriguez, who shares Precinct 2 with Vela, said the constable was out of line.

“Certainly if she was demanding a dollar amount that was above and beyond that $38, then certainly I would say that was beyond the scope that she had discussed with the county staff office,” Rodriguez said.

After learning about the Easter incident on Tuesday, Bueché reached out to Reyes and offered him a consolation.

“Next year, if they decide to come back, we will make sure it doesn’t happen again,” she said. “We’re going to make an adjustment for him to compensate him for the unexpected expense that he incurred. We will probably allow him to use the pavilion at no charge next year because they experienced this unfortunate situation.”

It wasn’t the first time Vela has pushed back against other county officials.

In January, the constable tried to eject Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar from the city’s annual Cowboy Breakfast, she acknowledged.

Her office was providing security for the event at the Cowboys Dance Hall parking lot near Windcrest, where more than 30,000 people flocked for free breakfast tacos. Vela, who is mulling a run for sheriff next year, was upset when Salazar arrived at a “VIP” entrance.

“He went through a secure barricaded area,” she said. “He said he was the sheriff and had a right to go in. We were informing him that the section was assigned for VIP.”

Salazar declined to comment.