HOUSTON -- They are the most dedicated among us: the thousands of service men and women from the Houston area, risking their lives in the Middle East.

But in at least one case, one officer found himself under attack, not by insurgents in Iraq or the Taliban in Afghanistan, but by the government of Harris County.

Capt. Jose Iraheta, who is in the U.S. Air Force, and his family live in northwest Harris County.

They own a home, but he doesn’t spend much time here.

11 News Photo

Capt. Iraheta flies in planes high above places like Iraq and Afghanistan, using high-tech equipment to spot enemy targets and guide in fighter jets.

“They give us a general area, and it’s our job to try to figure where they’re at,” he said.

It means Capt. Iraheta spends many months away from home.

That’s stressful enough. But add to that a financial stress: He said his house payment has doubled because they had one of the adjustable-rate mortgages.

“Folks are losing their homes because they can barely make their payments,” he said. “ So obviously they might have problems with their taxes.”

Problems paying their property taxes. But luckily for Capt. Iraheta, he knew about this: a law in Texas that allows people on active military duty like him to defer paying their property taxes.

They have until after they’re discharged or otherwise living back home.

So Capt. Iraheta filled out the forms and postponed paying his taxes.

But there was a problem, and the captain found out about it in a most troubling way. He said while he was off fighting a war, Harris County decided to sue him.

“I got sued,” Capt. Iraheta said.

The county sent him a citation, saying he owed $7,000 in back taxes plus $3,000 attorneys fees and penalties.

To collect it, the county said it would sell his house in a foreclosure sale.

“Once I got the law suit, I called and I said, ‘look, you hit me with a law suit, and there’s a valid waiver in place,’” he said.

Suing soldiers over property taxes is against Texas law, and so is trying to charge them extra fees.

So how’d it happen? The mistake is traced to downtown Houston law firm Linebarger, Goggan Blair and Sampson. Harris County uses it to collect unpaid taxes, and the law firm now admits it was all a big mistake.

In a statement to 11 News, quote:

“At the time we filed suit ... against Captain Iraheta, not all systems were in place to recognize his military status or his eligibility for the military deferral. As soon as we became aware of his status, we quickly moved to dismiss the lawsuit.”

11 News: “It sounds like they’re trying to say we messed up.”

Capt. Iraheta: “”I think so, but I don’t think they’re taking responsibility.”

So now the captain has counter-sued. He wants the county to pay money into a relief fund for soldiers and to improve safeguards to prevent a repeat of what he went through.

And he wants more publicity, because here’s the thing: The county said only about 20 service people have applied for the tax deferrals, a seemingly small number considering Harris County is second only to L.A. as a source for new recruits.

“I just came off deployment from Afghanistan,” Army reservist Sgt. Michael Baldwin said. Here at one of the Army’s Reserve Centers, soldiers back from a year in the Middle East said it’s a great program.

“It just basically allows you to put your life on hold while you’re taking care of serving your country,” Maj. Ginger Norris said.

The county’s tax man, Paul Bettencourt, said he couldn’t comment about all this because of the lawsuit. He did, however, send a photo, showing his efforts four years ago to publicize the tax-waiver program – a program to give soldiers a financial break.

It’s also the law which in this one case, the county did not follow.