Man accused of criminal mischief in ICE custody; attorney says case was never resolved in court

HAYS COUNTY, Texas - A man accused of criminal mischief in Hays County is now in ICE custody even though his case didn’t go to court. 

His defense attorney said a paperwork error short-circuited the justice process for his client.

What they're saying:

On Dec. 5, Alexander Hernandez was accused of throwing gasoline into one of the rooms of the house he was staying at and dumping paint all over the homeowner’s truck. He was facing a criminal mischief charge in Hays County, but his attorney said his case was never resolved in court.

"We never went in front of the judge, we never signed the plea documents, we never did anything to try to move that plea forward because we were missing evidence," Criminal Defense and Civil Rights attorney Alfonso Salazar said.

Salazar said the court was supposed to reset the case to a later date, but instead, the final judgment paperwork was sent to the jail anyway.

"It's the final piece of that plea that lets everybody know what happened, who did it, what the punishment was, and how the case ended and so that piece of paper was sent to the jail by the district attorney's office prior to us even agreeing to take a plea," Salazar said.

The paper was never signed by Hernandez or his attorney, yet it was signed by a judge. 

Hernandez was fingerprinted at the jail and then turned over to ICE custody. The Hays County District Attorney’s Office confirmed an incomplete form was sent to the jail but claims mistakes were made by the jail and judge in this situation.

"That’s a distraction because without the creation of that document, without that document being sent directly to the jail and not to me, none of this would have ever happened," Salazar said.

The other side:

The DA’s office said this has never happened before in the six or seven years they’ve had this process. They said once the mistake was discovered, they worked as quickly as possible to dismiss the charge.

Salazar argues the damage was already done.

"The carelessness of the district attorney's office robbed this gentleman of due process twice. Once here to defend himself in his criminal case, and then a document was sent with him to immigration claiming that he was a criminal. They are going to treat him differently when he arrives in that process, other than if he had just come undocumented or if they were unsure where he was in the process," Salazar said.

Now, Salazar said he doesn’t even know where his client is.

"I have been unable to find my client, the federal government won't tell me where he is. I don't even know if he's still in the country," Salazar said.

Hays County Sheriff’s Office: "The Hays County Sheriff’s Office remains committed to working closely with the District Attorney’s Office and our judicial partners to ensure established procedures are followed."

The judge, whose signature is on the paperwork, has not responded to FOX 7’s request for comment.