Houston man on $1 bail in domestic violence case arrested again for allegedly violating a protection order

HOUSTON. William Parker has seen many judges and courtrooms.

In December 2022, a 50-year-old man was arrested in December for domestic violence assault. According to court records, this was his second crime.

Judge Teiva Bell gave Parker $1 bail for the misdemeanor.

Just a month after Parker was released from prison on $1 bail, Parker was charged with two more charges – criminal trespassing and violation of a protection order, a bail violation report showed.

For the two new charges, Parker was granted PR bonds, meaning that Parker did not have to pay any cash bond.

“This is literally an insult to the clients and survivors we serve,” said Chau Nguyen, a traumatologist at JEM Wellness and Counseling. .”

The family of one of Parker’s victims said they were shocked to learn that Parker had received $1 bail. They said they had problems with him for years.

“Texas law does not allow a judge to deny bail except in a very limited number of situations,” said Sandra Guerra Thompson, professor of criminal law at the University of Houston.

Thompson is also a court-appointed monitor. In 2020, she began collecting data on Harris County’s compliance with a federal lawsuit aimed at solving a perennial problem.

“Anyone with money could be released, but the poorest could not,” Guerra Thompson said.

The settlement dealt only with misdemeanor cases.

Guerra Thompson says that while Parker’s two new charges were misdemeanors, that doesn’t mean automatic public relations obligations. She says the cases of domestic violence have been classified.

“They’re going to go to a hearing, and usually the judge will give stricter conditions in cases where they have concerns about domestic violence,” she said.

KHOU 11 contacted Judge Bell but received no response. Parker is out of jail on bail and is due back in court next week.

Prosecutors with the Harris County Sheriff’s Office fought for a higher bail. According to court records, they presented Parker’s 30-year criminal record to the judge.

Earlier this year, Kathy’s man was released from prison on a two-dollar bail on charges of kidnapping and strangling a woman he dated. H returned to prison a few days later after threatening the same woman.

READ: Kidnapped, assault suspect released on $1 bail in court on new charge of threatening same victim

The story made national headlines and caught the attention of Texas. Governor Greg Abbott.

“Recidivist accused of beating a woman gets $1 bail. Terrible,” Abbott tweeted. “Texans need to feel safe in their communities. In this session, we will remove the easy bail policy that allows dangerous criminals to return to our streets.”

Judge KHOU 11, whom he spoke to in January about the case, said that in these cases, judges follow the law set by the legislature.

“So when they say we can’t give a personal guarantee in these cases, we don’t. , that’s what we do,” Judge Chris Morton said.

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