Criminal district court judge did not violate state law by granting a PR bond for violent crime defendant

HOUSTON - The case has a lawmaker considering a change in state law.

What we know:

351st Criminal District Court Judge Nata Cornelio did not grant 21-year-old Jared Wilson, a PR or personal recognizance bond, for an aggravated robbery charge.

"She did not, that's correct," said defense attorney Brent Mayr. "After he was arrested and charged, he stayed in custody for 10 months until he pleaded guilty, and with an agreement with the prosecutors, was placed on probation."

State law prohibits judges from granting PR bonds, or get out of jail free cards, for violent crimes, like aggravated robbery.

Cornelio did not violate the law by granting a PR bond for Wilson's motion to revoke probation. Wilson was free on a second PR bond for a misdemeanor evading arrest charge.

"Both of those are minor infractions of the law, so he was granted a PR bond for both those cases," Mayr said. "Most importantly, when he was out on those PR bonds, he didn't commit any new law violations."

Dig deeper:

But that recently changed when Wilson was charged with possession of a weapon, a machine gun, and tampering with evidence.

"Because of the severity of these cases, he has not been granted a PR bond, and I don't expect that he will get a PR bond on these cases," said Mayr.

Representative Mitch Little will file a bill during this special session or the next regular one that would prohibit judges from granting PR bonds to defendants on probation for violent crimes.

As for Jared Wilson, the state filed a motion to end his probation and sentence him to prison for 12 years.

Judge Cornelio will ultimately decide his fate.