Weeks after receiving a personal recognizance (PR) bond or a jail-free card, George Albert Hodge, 35, allegedly killed Greg Downs, 61, a local from Texas, following their encounter on November 3.
Downs’ family still grieves his death and seeks justice following his murder, Fox 26 reported. The victim’s daughter, Ashely Ballesteros, could not believe that something like this would happen to her father.
“It’s just hard to believe you never think this would happen to you. It’s something you see on the news,” Ballesteros told Fox 26.
How it happened
When Hodge stole a car on November 3 and checked into a motel in the 12900 block of the Northwest Freeway, reports indicated that he was a wanted fugitive.
Ballesteros asserted that Hodge went door to door robbing people on the same day while wearing a black bandana over his face. Her father saw Hodge’s actions simultaneously because he was outdoors.
After that, Downs removed the suspect’s license plate, which resulted in the latter’s demise.
“It was George Hodge at the door, and he had a knife and started stabbing my dad,” said Ballesteros.
Shortly after, Downs was taken by ambulance to the hospital, where his daughters attended to him. Because Downs noted the vehicle plate, the authorities detained Hodge in the interim.
Hodge’s History
According to reports, Andy Kahan with Houston Crime Stoppers confirmed that Hodge had eight prior felony convictions and has been in and out of county jails and prisons since 2006.
Hodge was nonetheless given a PR bail for a felony charge of escaping arrest by 185th Criminal District Court Judge Jason Luong despite his criminal history.
A personal recognizance bond, also known as a PR bond, is the least expensive and most effective way to be released from custody in Texas, Austin Criminal Lawyer James Gill’s website revealed.
Kahan also disclosed that the suspect broke his bond terms in less than two weeks and skipped the court appearance afterward.
On the other hand, Ballesteros said that the judges who granted Hodge and people like him the PR bond should be held accountable.
