The Hidalgo County District Attorney’s Office has disclosed that it will not seek the death penalty should a 37-year-old Pharr man be convicted of killing an infant.
Prosecutors made the announcement in the case against Ubence Hernandez III on June 7, court records show.
Hernandez is accused of breaking 1-year-old Julius Flores’ spine “due to blunt force trauma” on Sept. 22 at a residence in the 3700 block of E. Business 83 while babysitting the child while the infant’s mother was at a store.
Donna police arrested him Oct. 7.
In his first appearance, Hernandez denied the charges and has since pleaded not guilty to a Jan. 14 indictment charging him with capital murder of a person under 10 years old, murder and injury to a child.
He’s also accused of pointing a gun at a woman on Sept. 22, the same day the child died.
Donna police arrested him for that incident and said he pointed the gun at a woman named Patricia Ann Garces.
Her relation to Hernandez isn’t immediately clear. It’s also not immediately clear whether this charge is related to the death of the child. The probable cause affidavit over the gun allegation doesn’t answer those questions and The Monitor was unable to obtain the affidavit for the capital murder charge because the DA’s office asked for an Attorney General’s opinion on whether Texas Family Code prohibited the release of that document.
The AG ruled in favor of the DA.
Hernandez remained jailed Monday a total of $950,000 in bonds and is scheduled for a court hearing on Wednesday.
