HOUSTON – It was a busy day at the Harris County courthouse.
Adolfo Serrano, the 36-year-old accused of killing Harris County Precinct 7 Deputy Constable Jennifer Chavis, made his first appearance in court for his intoxication manslaughter charge.
Judge Robert Johnson zeroed out his $750,000 bond, which was set for Monday morning. A bond hearing is set for Friday, it will determine if Serrano will remain behind bars.
Investigators say while fleeing the scene of another crash on Beltway 8 near Fondren Serrano slammed his Ford F-550 truck into the back of deputy Chavis’ car. Her patrol unit burst into flames and she was pronounced dead at the scene.
“We know how the crash happened, we know how intoxicated or we believe we know how intoxicated he was, but we don’t know where he was yet, we don’t know a lot of things,” Sean Teare, chief of Harris County Vehicular Crimes Division said.
Teare said the district attorney’s office will spend the next few weeks gathering records. He revealed Serrano was driving a work truck.
“The truck that he was in was an oil field services truck and it was a massive truck, it’s multi, multi tons,” he said.
While they continue to piece this case together, they want Serrano to remain behind bars -- citing his record. It shows 10 arrests here in Texas, dating back to 2004. Over the years, he’s been arrested for driving without a valid driver’s license, assault on a family member causing bodily harm and a DWI with a child under 15.
“On Friday, we plan to again, probably, show the video, show his criminal history and ask the judge to continue to hold him at no bond for I believe 60 days,” Teare said.
Intoxication manslaughter holds a minimum of 15 years and a max of life in prison.
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