A 17-year-old Brownsville man involved in a fatal 2018 DWI accident that killed two local teens appeared in court this week for a hearing on alleged violation of the conditions for his 10-year probated sentence.
Rolando Garcia, Jr., was 16 at the time of the accident. According to police reports, the vehicle had four occupants. Two of the teens — 15-year old Bryan Alfaro and 16-year-old Pedro Cerda Rojas — were killed when the vehicle crashed into a residence on the 300 block of West 5th Street around midnight on Oct. 9, 2018. Garcia was the driver of the vehicle.
Police affidavits alleged the teens had been smoking marijuana. Garcia was charged with two counts of intoxicated manslaughter with vehicle and one count of intoxicated assault with vehicle causing serious bodily injury, all second and third-degree felonies.
On January 8, 2020, Garcia was sentenced to 10 years in the custody of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice — Correctional Institutions Division with a probated sentence, according to court records.
As an added condition of his probation, Garcia was ordered to participate in the Cameron-Willacy Counties Surveillance Program for a period of six months to one year. Records indicated Garcia entered the program on Jan. 17, but then stopped attending, causing probation to consider him absconded.
“All counseling appeared to have been in vain and Mr. Garcia would stop reporting altogether after his last reporting date of January 27, 2020,” wrote his community supervision officer in a progress report on June 16.
In the document submitted to Judge Adolfo E. Cordova, Jr. of the 197th state District Court of Cameron County, the officer argued that Garcia “has made no effort to mitigate the most egregious mistake of his life.”
Records showed the case was reset for July following an appearance by both Garcia’s attorney and an attorney for the state; Garcia pled “true” to the allegations and evidence was submitted, those records stated.
Cordova ordered probation to screen Garcia for any programs or other options available to him. According to Garcia’s progress report, he owes over $16,000 in court, restitution, and probation fees.
