Emergency protective order falls through, allowing 32-year-old man to violate it at least twice

HOUSTON (FOX 26) - Michael Higgenbotham can be seen on surveillance video entering a downtown office Friday night May 24.

That morning a Precinct 1 deputy constable served Higgenbotham when he appeared in court for a felony charge of endangering a child.

That service meant Higgenbotham knew he was ordered to stay away from the downtown office where his ex-girlfriend works.

“They have to be entered in a database so that law enforcement knows it’s out there,” said family law attorney Terisa Taylor.

But when another Precinct 1 deputy constable goes to the law office to investigate Higgenbotham for allegedly violating the protective order he could find no proof Higgenbotham had been served.

“There has been a lot of missteps in this case,” Taylor said. “It puts my client in danger if there are other missteps in Harris County it puts a lot of other people in danger if those protective orders aren’t timely entered for their protection.”

“Until its put into the system, which my office does not do until it gets put into the system, all law enforcement won’t be able to see that it’s been served it’s enforceable," Taylor said.

Last Saturday, Higgenbotham allegedly followed his ex-girlfriend to Corpus Christi.

When the cops showed up, they could not find the protective order in the statewide database, even though it was filed on May 21 and served on May 24.

"You’ve brought it to our attention. I’m going to work to find out who enters it into the police computers which is not us and find out where it may have been a breakdown whatever agency is responsible that it gets fixed,’ Rosen said.