Teen who posted bond on 2023 murder charge is back behind bars in Hays County
HAYS COUNTY, Texas - A 19-year-old man was shot to death in Austin last year. The teen charged with his murder was out on bond, but he is back behind bars charged with multiple felonies in Hays County.
The mother of the victim said the system has failed.
"He was a very loving, caring person, hardworking," Julieta Serrano, the mother of the murder victim, said.
On May 15, 2023, Serrano’s son, 19-year-old Brian Serrano, was killed in Southeast Austin.
Brian Serrano
"I was in shock. I was in shock," Serrano said.
Court documents said at around 3 a.m., Serrano was found shot dead in a car near the park on Springfield Drive. The passenger survived and told police multiple men got out of a car, and she believed she was being robbed. She said she tried to wake Serrano so they could drive away, but the gunfire started before they could leave.
A witness told police the then 17-year-old Ervin Coronado-Palacio shot Serrano 30 times with an AR.
Coronado-Palacio was originally charged with capital murder and aggravated robbery. A grand jury indictment reduced the charges to aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and murder, making him eligible for bond.
On August 30, 2023, a visiting judge, retired Travis County Judge Jon Wisser, set the bond at $150,000.
"So $15,000 is what a life meant to Travis County. I was not agreeing to that," Serrano said.
The Travis County District Attorney claims they didn’t agree either and raised an objection to the bond amount in court, but as of Thursday afternoon, a formal motion was never filed with the clerk’s office.
Ervin Coronado-Palacio
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"He doesn't deserve a second chance to be out in the community. He's a threat to the community, to society," Serrano said. "He took a life. He did it once, he can do it again."
In December, Coronado-Palacio posted bond and was released.
"It has been difficult waiting and not knowing and not knowing what he's up to. Like, what could he do next? Well, the worst happened. The worst happened," Serrano said.
On Tuesday, Coronado-Palacio was arrested in Hays County and charged with trafficking a person and two counts of sexual assault of a child.
"I told you so," Serrano said. "Now there's more people ruined because of him, because he was released out on such a low bond."
Retired Judge Wisser told FOX 7 Thursday he thought the bond was high enough. He said he was surprised someone was able to get out on a bond that high and if the attorney didn’t think it was high enough, they could have easily increased it.
He said almost a year has gone by and, in his humble opinion, he thinks the case should have been resolved by now.
The Travis County District Attorney’s Office didn’t respond to FOX 7 Austin’s request for comment on Thursday.
"I think they should have advocated more strongly that he not be released. There are good reasons that he should not be released. It did not use to be the norm that murderers got released into our community," Serrano’s attorney Daniel Betts said.
"Travis County has failed Brian and the rest of the victims," Serrano said.
Coronado-Palacio is being held in the Hays County Jail on a $2 million bond.
He has a hearing in Travis County set for August 14.