HOUSTON – Two years after 17-year-old Bryan Blanco was slain at Sharpstown Park, his family still struggles with his loss.
“It happened two days after Christmas,” Carlos Vasquez, Blanco’s uncle, said. “Right now, the holidays are coming. It’s kind of hard for us 'cause he’s not going to be there, and we remember the last time we had him so, like last year he wasn’t there. It’s just not the same.”
Two men were found guilty in the Dec. 27, 2014, killing. Frank Marinero was sentenced to 99 years in prison.
The other man, Jose Hernandez, 22, pleaded guilty, but while free on bail he disappeared last week, a day before he was due to be sentenced.
“Couldn’t believe it. We were shocked. We were like, what?” Vasquez said.
Hernandez was in the country illegally. When he was arrested in 2015, prosecutors and Houston police asked U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to put a detainer on him to prevent him from being released on bail.
That request was denied due to ICE policy because Hernandez had not been convicted of the crime.
An ICE spokesman told KPRC Wednesday in a written statement:
“Hernandez did not have any criminal convictions and therefore did not fall within any of the enumerated priority categories under the Department’s civil enforcement guidelines. Accordingly, an ICE detainer was not placed on him.”
It’s a policy some law enforcement officials say simply doesn’t make sense.
“This is the national level at its worst. Saying we’re not going to put a detainer on a person charged with murder in this country illegally,” Ray Hunt, Houston Police Officers’ Union, said.
On the other side of the equation, Gordon Quan, an immigration lawyer and former Houston councilman, says every defendant is legal or otherwise is protected by the Constitution, and that granting bail shouldn’t be determined by immigration status.
Prosecutors said Hernandez fulfilled every requirement imposed by the court, right up until the day he disappeared.
He’s still at large.
Prosecutors said Hernandez and Marinero lured Blanco to the Sharpstown Park on Harbor Drive using a fake Facebook page. When Blanco arrived at the park, Marinero shot and killed him.
Anyone with information on Hernandez’s whereabouts was asked to call Crime Stoppers at 713-222-8477.