BY VALERIE GONZALEZ AND MARK REAGAN | STAFF WRITERS
A future life in the U.S. may be in jeopardy for the Pharr brothers accused of killing their stepfather last month after ICE placed detainers on them upon their release, though their bonds are considered prohibitively high, according to their attorneys.
Brothers Alejandro Santos Treviño and Christian Treviño, both 18, were arrested and charged along with their friend, Juan Eduardo Melendez, for the homicide of their stepfather, Gabriel Quintanilla, 42, on Jan. 20.
Quintanilla was believed to have sexually abused his 9-year-old daughter, half-sister to the Treviño brothers. Upon learning of the situation, the young men allegedly severely beat Quintanilla who was found dead a day later in the vicinity of McColl and Whalen roads in McAllen.
The brothers do not have legal status to reside in the U.S., according to their attorneys.
Bond was set at $1.5 million for Christian Treviño and Melendez, and $1 million for Alejandro Santos Treviño.
Alejandro’s bond was lower, since he wasn’t considered to deal the fatal blows, police said. He was charged with aggravated assault and engaging in organized criminal activity while Christian and Melendez are charged with capital murder, aggravated assault and engaging in organized criminal activity.
Attorneys contend the bond is not something their clients can pay, though.
“It effectively creates a ‘no bond’ situation that results in illegal confinement and restraint of the defendant,” Stephan C. Barrera, attorney for Alejandro Santos Treviño, wrote in his bond reduction request.
Carlos A. Garcia, Christian Treviño’s attorney, pointed out the lack of criminal convictions for his client.
“The Applicant in this case has no criminal convictions of any kind,” Garcia wrote about Martinez. “He has lived in the United States since he was four years old and has attended public schools in the area since Pre-K. The applicant is not a United States citizen.”
An ICE detainer was placed on the brothers, according to the Pharr police chief.
“What it means is that the ICE officer, or ICE is going to have to make a determination as to what they want to do with a person who has a criminal charge and is bonded out of state custody,” Carlos Moctezuma Garcia, an immigration attorney, explained Wednesday.
“We can’t predict what’s going to happen,” Carlos M. Garcia said, adding, “I don’t think the government would even know until they look at the case, and they make that determination once the case is in front of them.”
Support for the brothers, however, has grown exponentially in an online petition asking for their release. Thousands signed on the first days, but by Wednesday they had collected over 450,000 signatures.
Attorneys hope for an acquittal.
“At the proper time, the facts once established and proven will exonerate the brothers of any criminal liability and responsibility. I’m confident of that.” Carlos A. Garcia, defense attorney for Christian Treviño.
But for now, the legal process moves forward.
“That would be the next step, to see if maybe we could get them bail amounts that are a little more reasonable,” Barrera, Alejandro’s attorney, said Wednesday.
As for Melendez, as of Wednesday afternoon a bond reduction request had not been filed on his behalf, according to court records.
However, unlike the brothers, Melendez faces previous criminal allegations stemming from December when the Texas Department of Public Safety arrested him on marijuana and smuggling of persons charges, which would have an impact on an future bond reduction request.
