HOUSTON — Scott Brogan came home for lunch one Friday afternoon and took a short nap on the couch. Minutes later, he heard footsteps coming up the stairs of his Heights townhome. An intruder had made his way in, wielding one of Brogan’s antique canes over his head.
“I remember the face, I remember the eyes, and I can remember me screaming,” Brogan said.
The man in blue jeans and a ball cap repeatedly beat Brogan’s face with the metal knob of the walking stick. He pleaded with the stranger to take his wallet and car keys, but nothing Brogan said could sway him to stop the beating.
“This was not a breaking and entering,” Brogan said. “This was not to steal something. This was to murder somebody.”
Neighbors eventually heard Brogan’s cries for help and dialed 911. Houston police arrested Heriberto Corona Cervantes on scene and also charged him with assaulting another random person earlier the same day.
“Why did this happen? Why did this happen to me?” Brogan said. “It could have happened to anybody, it could have happened to you.”
Judges ordering more ankle monitors
Court records show Harris County Judge Natalia Cornelio released Cervantes on bond and ordered him to wear an ankle monitor while out on the street. He is far from alone. KHOU 11 Investigates discovered the number of accused felons on ankle monitors has soared in the last five years. In 2019, 326 felony defendants were required to wear the devices. In 2023, that number jumped to 4,121 according to data from Harris County Pretrial Services.
The agency’s mission includes monitoring defendants released on bond “to promote compliance with court orders, court appearances, and to support public safety,” according to its latest annual report.
Harris County Pretrial Services cannot, or will not provide information on how many accused felons violate their ankle monitor conditions. For months, KHOU 11 Investigates asked for that data, but Director Natalie Michailides could not come up with any numbers. She sent our open records requests to the Harris County District Courts Administrator, which referred them to the Harris County District Clerk’s Office.
“Our public deserves transparency,” Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg said.
Ogg said her office has tried to get similar information on ankle violators but did not have any luck.
“I think everybody’s public safety is compromised until we really know the exact nature of the problem, and we don’t,” she said.
How often accused violent felons break ankle monitor rules
KHOU did its own analysis, spending weeks poring individual court records from November 2022 to November 2023. During that year, there were 3,396 violent felony defendants on ankle monitors, according to PreTrial Services.
More than a third -- 1,272 or 37% -- violated their ankle monitor conditions, according to court records. Twenty-seven percent of those did so multiple times.
They allegedly broke the rules by failing to comply with curfew requirements, violating an “exclusion zone” by visiting a victim’s home, tampering with the device, or letting the battery die.
“Which means we have no idea where you are, period,” said Andy Kahan, director of victim services and advocacy for Crimestoppers. “You’re basically thumbing your nose and you’re saying catch me if you can.”
Examples of thumbing-your-nose excuses include murder defendant Alijah Williams. A bond violation report last August showed there “were deep cuts on both sides” of his ankle monitor strap. Williams reported the tampering “may have been caused after playing sports.” A bond violation report for aggravated assault defendant Mia Howard, stated that “she had a Christmas party and fell asleep and her friend cut the device off as a joke.” A violation report for defendant Jerry Jones showed he came in with the device “duct taped together and stated it fell off after they were praying.
“I’ve seen a lot of these before and I just, all I can do is just laugh in disgust,” Kahan said. “Like, you got to be kidding me.”
While the examples sound comical on one hand, Kahan said they are life-threatening on the other hand because these violent felony defendants can pick up new criminal charges despite having an ankle monitor.
From November 2022 to November 2023, KHOU 11 Investigates identified 224 who were arrested for new crimes. Nearly a third of the new offenses were for family violence, followed by violation of a protective order, assault and robbery. Six were arrested for murder.
In some cases, the victims of violent crimes suffer again and again.
Jaylon Deshon Williams was charged with assaulting his pregnant girlfriend in December 2022. Court records say he shoved her to the ground and later texted “I hope the baby die so we won’t be tied together.” Seven months later, two bond violation reports were filed against Williams for visiting a restricted location and tampering with his ankle monitor. The following month he was charged with assaulting the same woman at gunpoint.
In another case, Mario Cardenas Jr. was charged with continuous family violence for assaulting his girlfriend over four days in August 2022. Months later, he had two bond violations for a dead ankle monitor battery. While awaiting his next court date, Cardenas was charged with assaulting the same woman again using a lit cigarette as a weapon. Two months after that, he picked up another assault charge for allegedly kicking and strangling the same woman. In court records, she described Cardenas’ demeanor as “like satan from hell.”
“We’ve seen people who’ve ultimately ended up losing their life over this,” Kahan said.
That was the case in the killing of Precinct 3 Deputy Constable Omar Ursin. Both suspects, Ashim Taylor Jr. and Jayland Womack, were out on bond with ankle monitors for previous murder charges when they were arrested in Ursin’s death.
“This really hit home pretty hard,” Precinct 3 Constable Sherman Eagleton said in September 2022. “That ankle monitor is not going to stop someone from killing again.”
As for the case of victim Scott Brogan, court records reveal Cervantes, his alleged attacker, violated ankle monitor conditions four separate times for curfew requirements and a dead battery. Court records show Judge Natalia Cornelio never revoked his bond .
“And he’s out there, and he’s still out there,” Brogan said.
In court pleadings, the attorney for Cervantes is preparing an insanity defense.
“When somebody tells you they’re crazy and you don’t do anything about it, that should terrify every single person in this city,” Brogan said.
Cornelio said the Texas Code of Judicial Conduct prohibits her from commenting on specific cases in her court. Cornelio and other judges KHOU contacted provided a joint statement regarding ankle monitor violations:
“As presiding judges of the Harris County State Criminal District Courts, who took an oath to uphold the law and follow the constitution, are required to be fair and impartial in each case. Bond violation reports (BVR) represent an allegation, not evidence, of a defendant’s noncompliance with some aspect of the bond condition, including GPS monitoring. GPS devices are useful but not infallible tools. Bond violation reports can include a range of allegations, including technical issues related to a malfunctioning device, alleged curfew violations, and serious incidents like tampering with or removing an ankle monitor.
"After reviewing the BVR, the court has the discretion to use multiple effective methods to ensure the defendant’s appearance, such as notifying attorneys or bondsmen, issuing court orders, or issuing a capias. Before determining whether a bond violation occurred, the judge holds a hearing where the State and Defense are afforded the opportunity to present evidence. After the hearing, the case may resolve through plea, dismissal, bond revocation or adjusting bond conditions.
"In each of these cases, the courts acted consistent(ly) with the law by hearing from all parties and making decisions based on the evidence presented. To comment further about specific cases would violate Judicial Canons and Rules of Judicial Administration.”