A 29-year-old Harlingen man charged for his role in a July 2018 hit-and-run death pleaded guilty in Brownsville on Monday.
Michael David Rincones was charged with one count of accident involving death – a second degree felony – for striking 20-year-old Adrian Jimenez with his vehicle and leaving the scene of the accident, according to an indictment handed down by a grand jury on Oct. 10.
Rincones pleaded guilty to the charge as part of a plea bargain on Monday, according to court records. Updates published in the case file showed that a jury trial scheduled for Monday was waived.
The offense carries a term of between two to 10 years and up to a $5,000 fine. Rincones is scheduled to be sentenced on March 12.
A 2018 news release from the Harlingen Police Department stated that officers were dispatched to the 400 block of W. Taft St. in reference to an auto-pedestrian crash on July 21, 2018 at approximately 2:06 a.m.
“When officers arrived on scene, a male later identified as 20 yr. old Adrian Eduardo Jimenez was found lying on the ground with serious bodily injuries. EMS was called to the scene, and Adrian Jimenez was transported to a local hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries and passed away,” the department wrote.
The release stated that Harlingen’s Major Crime Investigators learned that Jimenez had been struck by a dark-colored pick-up truck, and that the driver failed to stop and render aid, fleeing the scene of the crash in the vehicle.
Rincones was arrested on Aug. 23, 2018 after investigators followed up on a tip. He was taken into custody without incident and charged, according to the document.
