Defendant in double slaying free from jail while habitual offender free on bonds is accused of murder
HOUSTON - "My parents were sincere honest hardworking individuals. They came here with a dream when they were just teenagers," said Rich Lam.
Back in 2018, Rich Lam lost both of his parents, Bao and Jenny Lam, in execution-style slayings.
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"They were assaulted in their home robbed and executed," he said.
182nd Criminal District Court Judge Danny Lacayo set bond at $350,000 for each of the three defendants charged with killing the couple.
24-year-old Eric Peralta posted bond and is now free from jail.
"My parent's lives, that’s all their worth? They let them bond out for $350,000," Lam said. "Over their lifetime, they paid more in taxes than that."
Remember defendants only need to come up with 10% of the bond.
"$35,000 is way too little for capital murder," said Lam.
41-year-old Donald Lenor is a habitual offender.
That means judges, like 180th Criminal District Court Judge Dasean Jones, can say no bond. Instead, Jones has freed Lenor five times from jail by granting him five felony bonds.
Three of those bonds were for Aggravated Assault with a deadly weapon.
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On Sunday, police say Lenor shot and killed a man on the northeast side and assaulted a police officer who tried to put bags on his hands to preserve evidence.
A murder that wouldn’t have happened if Jones wouldn’t have repeatedly granted the habitual offender bond.