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Herman Hernandez
A local judge told a Nederland defendant – a man accused of beheading his girlfriend’s pet bird before battering the pregnant woman – he had 30 days to begin following rules outlined in his bond or else she’d send him to prison ahead of his potential trial.
Charged with animal cruelty, Hernan Cortez Hernandez, 27, appeared before 252nd District Court Judge Raquel West Oct. 10 for a status review alongside his attorney Dustin Galmor. Explaining why his client refused to take a drug test, Galmor told the court his client has been using marijuana to self-medicate for his post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
“He does not have a prescription in his hand as of this date,” said Galmor. “He has applied for the prescription. They’ve accepted his application,” saying a doctor diagnosed his client with PTSD 11 months before his alleged crimes in 2020.
Officers arrested Hernandez in December 2020 after he allegedly beheaded a pet bird and assaulted his pregnant girlfriend.
The victim told officers Hernandez was mad at her for the way she spoke to a patron at the restaurant where she works as a bartender. Hernandez accused the victim of cheating when she arrived home. He then began assaulting her by punching her several times. Officers observed multiple scratches on the victim’s face, stomach and right side, as well as bruises on both arms.
The woman told officers she was initially too afraid to call 911 for help because Hernandez told her he’d send someone to kill her if she did. Hernandez’s violence is evidenced by an animal cruelty charge for killing a pet bird.
Hernandez told his girlfriend that he killed the bird before he turned his violence on her. Hernandez showed his girlfriend the dead bird in a trash can before taking its severed head and throwing it at the woman. Hernandez was arrested for assaulting a pregnant woman and animal cruelty, both third-degree felonies.
Hernandez appeared in court before Judge West March 22 to ask that she remove his GPS anklet, due to it being uncomfortable to wear with his work boots. Hernandez’s then-counsel, Jared Gilthorpe, told West his client wasn’t a flight risk due to the substantial financial stake he has in the case, including a $100,000 bond and attorney fees. Gilthorpe further asserted that GPS monitors don’t prevent so-called flight risks from fleeing, anyway.
Noting such monitors’ purpose was to collect evidence in the event someone wearing it breaks certain bond conditions and that she wasn’t concerned with comfort, West eventually granted the request.
“I’m going to reset this case for 30 days,” West said Oct. 10. “Something needs to be done on this case, if it’s not I’m going to request probation does more than just a 30-day sanction. You’ll end up being revoked and going to prison.”