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He is the second Border Patrol agent in Laredo to be arrested on a murder charge this year after Ronald Anthony Burgos-Aviles was accused of killing a woman with whom he was romantically involved and her 1-year-old child. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty in that case.

Laredo Border Patrol agent pleads not guilty in double homicide case, judge issues gag order

By Joana Santillana, LMTonline.com / Laredo Morning Times
Published 1:35 pm CDT, Tuesday, August 7, 2018


The judge presiding over the case of the Laredo Border Patrol agent indicted on two counts of capital murder has issued a gag order at the defense's request, precluding all parties involved from publicly discussing the case.

Ronald Anthony Burgos-Aviles, 29, appeared before 49th District Court Judge Joe Lopez on Monday for an arraignment. He pleaded not guilty to both capital murder charges.

Burgos-Aviles, who hails from Puerto Rico, had a supervisory role in the Laredo Sector Border Patrol before his arrest on April 9.

A high profile case that made international news due to its unusual nature, Burgos-Aviles is accused killing his alleged 27-year-old lover and the couple's 1-year-old child.


The indictment alleges that Burgos-Aviles repeatedly stabbed Grizelda Hernandez, slashed Dominic Alexander Hernandez's throat and stabbed him in the chest.

Attorneys J. Eduardo Peña and Silverio Martinez, both of whom have experience trying capital murder cases, are representing Burgos-Aviles. On July 25, Peña filed a motion to enjoin attorneys, their staffs, law enforcement officers and witnesses involved in the case from discussing it with the press.

The Webb County District Attorney's Office did not oppose the motion. Lopez granted it Monday morning.
In his order, Lopez writes that the court has a duty to preserve Burgos-Aviles' right to a fair trial by and impartial jury. If possible, the court must ensure that potential jurors are not prejudiced by pretrial publicity, the document states.

"This court takes judicial notice of the unusually emotional nature of the issues involved in this case," the order states.
All hearings will remain open to the public. However, prosecutors, defense attorneys, police, witnesses and other officers of the court with ties to the investigation are barred from discussing, summarizing or commenting on the case.

Peña told the court that the international attention the case had received could influence potential jurors. He cited empirical studies showing that jurors hearing death penalty cases that have received extensive pretrial publicity showed bias toward the defendant, increasing the likelihood of a conviction.

He pointed to the multiple prominent media outlets covering his client's case, such as Newsweek, the Washington Post, the Associated Press, Fox News and the New York Post.

"The various and numerous news articles and stories disseminated by the news media have already generated a tremendous amount of public anger, hate and prejudice toward (Burgos-Aviles)," Peña's motion states.
At a bond hearing in April, Martinez had filed a motion to make the hearing private and not allow any media in the courtroom making a similar argument about "poisoning" the jury pool. 406th District Court Judge Oscar J. Hale Jr. denied the motion and, after a two-day hearing, denied the bond request. Burgos-Aviles remains behind bars at the Webb County Jail.

Since there is no official witness list from either side yet, the order extends to people who have given statements to law enforcement or prosecutors and those who have previously testified at hearings related to the case.

Jury selection is scheduled to begin June 10, 2019. District Attorney Isidro "Chilo" Alaniz had said the process could take up to two months since jurors are questioned on a one-on-one basis.

https://www.lmtonline.com/local/crim...photo-14699406