Two Texas Judges Lower Career Criminal’s Bond Despite 1,046 Violations Of Release Conditions

Houston, TX – Two Houston-area judges reduced the bond of an alleged repeat offender even after he violated his court-ordered bond release conditions more than 1,000 times.

Edwin Maldonado, 20, was charged with felony drug possession just weeks before he was hit with an aggravated robbery with a deadly weapon offense, FOX News reported.

Maldonado posted a $30,000 bond and was released from jail on various court-ordered conditions, to include GPS monitoring, according to KRIV.

But according to court documents, the defendant spent the next eight months blowing off all of his release conditions.

GPS records indicated he traveled outside of his curfew zone on a staggering 847 occasions during that period, KRIV reported.

He was also called about his whereabouts on 435 occasions, according to court documents.

Houston Crime Stoppers Victims Rights Advocate Any Kahn said Maldonado violated his release conditions “over 1,000 times” during the eight months he was out of jail, KRIV reported.

“One thousand forty-three [times], to be exact,” Kahan noted. “I’ve never seen that in my life.”

Harris County Felony Associate Judge Tiffany Hill determined during Maldonado’s bond revocation hearing that prosecutors proved he had violated his bond conditions, KRIV reported.

But instead of holding him responsible for those violations, Hill actually dropped his bond amount.

“The judge then actually lowered the original bond from $30,000 thousand to $5,000,” Kahan told KRIV.

The district attorney’s office subsequently urged 230th Criminal District Court Judge Chris Morton to modify or reconsider Hill’s ruling and to raise or revoke Maldonado’s bond, but Morton concurred with the associate judge’s decision.

“You’ve got someone who was rewarded for being a failure, and this guy was a failure over 1,000 and some odd times,” a bewildered Kahan told KRIV. “I don’t know what kind of message that you’re sending, but I don’t think this is in the best interest of public safety.”

Criminal defense attorney Emily Detoto told KRIV the case is unlike anything she’s encountered with her own clients.

“I’ve certainly had clients hauled back into court on violations, maybe two or three times that have been alleged,” Detoto said. “[But] in my 27 years, I’ve never seen anything like that.”

“Normally, a judge would find that they’re in violation, and either raise [their bond], double it, or revoke it,” she added.