A 23-year-old Mexican national has been sentenced to 35 years in the state penitentiary after his 10 years adjudication probation was revoked this week in Brownsville.
Gerson Saul Salazar received the probated sentence on Sept. 20, 2018 for a Jan. 22, 2018 aggravated robbery, Cameron County court documents show, indicating that he was on probation when on April 7, 2021 authorities alleged he kidnapped a man and threatened to kill him with several weapons.
Salazar appeared Monday before 138th state District Judge Gabriela Garcia for his motion to revoke probation hearing.
The victim in the Jan. 22, 2018 case appeared at Monday’s hearing and testified as to what Salazar had done to him, Cameron County District Attorney Luis Saenz said Tuesday.
“Mr. Gerson presented a clear and present danger to our community for that reason he was removed and will be incarcerated for the next 35 years,” Saenz said. “I want to thank the victim/witness for displaying the courage to come into the courtroom and confront the defendant. This is a gentleman that the defendant put a gun to his head and was totally terrorized by it but he displayed tremendous courage coming into this courtroom and confronting the defendant.”
In the Jan. 22, 2018 case, Salazar held a man at gunpoint as he stole the man’s car in Cameron County, court documents state.
Salazar appeared on Sept. 20, 2018 before 138th state District Judge Arturo Cisneros Nelson, who sentenced him to 10 years deferred adjudication probation after he pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated robbery. A theft charge also filed against him was dismissed because of his guilty plea, court documents reflect.
In Texas, when a person is given deferred adjudication probation and they follow all the rules of the sentencing and not commit any crimes during their probation period, the charges are cleared from their record. As part of the deferred adjudication decision, Salazar was also ordered not to return to the United States because he was an undocumented immigrant.
Although the DA’s office had requested Salazar be sentenced to 50 years in state prison at the motion-to-revoke hearing, Saenz said he was satisfied with the sentence handed down because Salazar has a pending criminal case against him in Cameron County.
Saenz said Salazar showed no remorse at his Monday sentencing. “His demeanor was consistent with the profile of a hard core criminal. He should no emotion, he showed no remorse, very cold blooded,” the district attorney said.
Salazar still awaits trial for the April 7, 2021 case. According to a Cameron County indictment filed against him, Salazar is alleged to have kidnapped a man and threatened to kill him if he didn’t do what Salazar said. The suspect “exhibited a deadly weapon, namely a shotgun, a handgun and a knife during the commission of the offense,” the indictment states.
Salazar was attempting to commit a burglary at the residence of the man, the documents allege. The indictment further alleges Salazar took the man’s F-350 Ford truck, jewelry and money. He also took five rifles, three pistols and six shotguns from the man, the indictment states.
Saenz said because the amount of weapons Salazar is accused of taking, it is more than likely that he is not working alone. His office is working with other law enforcement agencies to see if Salazar’s name has come up in any other transnational organizations, including those in Mexico.
“We feel that obviously they were not for personal use, we feel that those weapons were intended to be smuggled across into Mexico,” Saenz said.
In addition to the state charges he has pending, Salazar has a pending federal charge against him for illegally entering the United States when he was ordered not to return, authorities said. A federal bench warrant has been issued for his arrest and he has a no bond in this charge.
“Mr. Gerson is a dangerous individual, so I am hoping the federal government will file their own charge on illegal reentry,” Saenz said.
