Lady Justice absent from McLennan County

Excessive bail shall not be required.

One man allegedly breaks into a house and picks up a knife, caught by the homeowner he surrenders and gets a bond of $999,000. Another man allegedly brings his own weapon to a home invasion and is reported to have cocked the handgun and demanded money. His bond is $62,000. Oh, and he was also found in possession of drugs.

A man is accused of murdering his grandfather in a particularly nasty bit of business and waits for the police to arrive. He gets a $5,000,000 bond while four suspects accused of the robbery of a business, same charge, have their bonds set at $500,000. These four fled the scene and had to be hunted down by police. One even has an immigration hold. One is a juvenile.

In the parlance of higher education – Compare and Contrast

Michael Guiterrez is alleged to have broken into a house around 5 a.m. and after gaining entry, retrieved a knife from the counter and was then confronted by the home owner.

JaMarcus Caufield allegedly broke into an apartment, made his way directly to a safe inside the apartment, pulled out a handgun, cocked it and demanded cash.

Guiterrez bond – $999,000.00

Guiterrez charges – Aggravated Robbery

Caufield’s bond - $62,000

Caufield’s Charges  -  possession of cocaine, possession of marijuana under two ounces and burglary of a habitation with intent to commit theft.

In two other cases, the disparity is even greater:

Aaron Firquin stands accused of murdering his 88 year old grandfather.

From the Waco Trib - Justice of the Peace Raymond Britton set bond at $5 million.

 

 

Four men stand accused of the robbery gone bad/murder of a store owner. Like the previous story, the victim was stabbed.

From the Waco Trib -

Saul Medina, 28, and Federico Davila, 26, both of Bellmead, are charged with capital murder in the slaying.
Both men are being held in the McLennan County Jail in lieu of $500,000 bond

Interestingly the same magistrate who set bond for an accused thief at almost a million dollars released a man charged with Attempted Capitol Murder on a Personal Recognizance bond.

Its the Eighth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution – From Wikipedia

The Eighth Amendment (Amendment VIII) to the United States Constitution is the part of the United States Bill of Rights which prohibits the federal government from imposing excessive bail, excessive fines or cruel and unusual punishments. The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that this amendment's Cruel and Unusual Punishment Clause applies to the states. The phrases employed originated in the English Bill of Rights of 1689.

KWTX News10 – 8/17/2010 Waco Man Charged In Home-Invasion Robbery Attempt

Waco Trib – 7-21-2010 Waco man accused of brandishing knife after breaking into home

Waco Trib – 7/22/2010 Nearly $1 million bond set for Waco man in break-in

Waco Trib – 7/26/2010 Man charged with capital murder in Bruceville-Eddy slaying

Waco Trib – 7/27/2010 Man suspected of killing his grandfather, former Bruceville-Eddy mayor

CentralTexasnow.com – 7/24/2010 Central Texas man arrested for killing his grandfather

KXXV – 7/24/2010 Autopsy shows former Central Texas mayor suffered stab injuries

We don’t have no stinkin’ problem

for your consideration:

Waco Tribune Herald published an article on the FRONT PAGE of Sunday’s paper:

Immigrants deported from McLennan County Jail rarely had criminal history

The story basically says very few people deported have serious criminal histories.

Now the story from the front page on Sat.

Police name fourth suspect in Bellmead store owner stabbing

This story is about four guys who murdered the owner of a convenience store. At least one is illegal because he has an immigration detainer. Notice that little piece of information was left out of the story at the above link, but you can find it here:

Police jail 3 suspects in Bellmead stabbing

From the article: Medina also has an immigration hold that will prevent him from being released even if he raises the bail money.

They walk among us

KWTX – 8/20/2010 Man Charged After Incident Involving Child At Local Garage Sale
Waco Tribune-Herald – 8/21/2010 Indecency with a child arrest

Jose Pantaleon Rivas, 50, was in the McLennan County Jail Friday charged with indecency with a child.

 

 

KWTX – 8/18/2010 - Grand Jury Indicts Two on Sexual Assault Of A Child Charges

Court records office indicate Grey was indicted in connection with reports made in April from two female victims who reported to police they had been sexually assaulted by Grey.

 

Badger was indicted on two counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child in connection with a May incident in which there was only one female victim who is younger than 14.

Both men were arrested earlier this year and both are free on bond, according to Coryell County Jail records.

KWTX – 8/18/2010 Central Texas Prosecutor Arrested On Child Porn Charges

Assistant Limestone County prosecutor Donald V. Phillips, 53, was free on $5,000 bond Wednesday after his arrest Tuesday night at his home in Navarro County on a possession of child pornography charge.

 

 

 

 

Waco Tribune-Herald 8/20/2010 Man charged with indecency with child

Keith Allen Jones is out of jail on $150,000 bond for allegedly inappropriately touching a girl younger than age 17.