Judge lowers bail for dad in Soto-guerra case
A judge reduced bail Monday for Ramon Preciado, the father of the man accused of killing a pregnant teen and her boyfriend days before Christmas.
Christopher Preciado, 19, has been charged with capital murder of multiple persons in the deaths of Savanah Soto, 18, Matthew Guerra, 22, and their unborn baby, Fabian.
His parents, Ramon, 53, and Myrta Romanos, 47, are accused of helping their son hide the bodies. Both have been held in the Bexar County Jail since they were arrested in early January.
Ramon Preciado’s bail now totals $450,000, down from $600,000. Romanos’ was $1.1 million — her total was cut almost in half Friday to $600,000, but she was still in custody Monday afternoon.
The couple’s bail was “oppressive,” according to their attorneys.
Ramon Preciado is charged with abuse of a corpse, with bail set at $100,000, and with altering, destroying or concealing a corpse, with bail lowered from $500,000 to $350,000. His court-appointed attorney, John Kuntz, said in his motion that the elder Preciado can’t afford his own lawyer, that his family ties are in San Antonio and that he would not pose a flight risk if freed on bail.
Kuntz also argued that Preciado has health problems, such as diabetes and high cholesterol, and has not been receiving his medications at the right time and the correct dosages at the Bexar County Jail.
Preciado was called to the witness stand to testify and detailed an incident in which he fell and experienced a seizure two days after he was arrested.
His defense lawyers originally requested his total bail be reduced to $120,000.
“The bond amounts are so oppressive they are unconstitutional, quite frankly,” Kuntz said. “The second-degree bond of $500,000 is so far outside the range of normalcy here in Bexar County and any other county.”
Prosecutors pointed out Preciado’s criminal history and framed him as a repeat offender. Preciado’s prior charges include unauthorized use of a vehicle, evading arrest and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
They also questioned whether his family was making a proper effort to bail him out and whether he was honest about his current assets.
Romanos is charged with abuse of a corpse, tampering with evidence with intent to impair an investigation and altering, destroying or concealing a corpse. She had bail for two charges reduced.
Soto and Guerra disappeared shortly before Christmas.
She was due to give birth to a boy. Her family grew frantic after she failed to show up for an appointment at a hospital where doctors planned to induce labor.
On Dec. 26, the couple’s bodies were discovered in Guerra’s car, a 2013 Kia Optima, which had been abandoned outside the Colinas at Medical Apartments on the Northwest Side.
Both had been shot in the head. Guerra’s death was listed as a “contact gunshot wound,” meaning the barrel of the gun was pressed directly against his head, according to the Bexar County Medical Examiner’s Office.
Two days after the bodies were found, police asked for the public’s help in identifying two “persons of interest” seen on security video from the apartment complex. In the video, two vehicles pulled up side-by-side in the parking lot. One was a Chevy Silverado pickup. The other was Guerra’s Kia.
A man emerged from each vehicle, and they spoke briefly before driving off in different directions. A third person can be seen throwing a towel to the driver of the truck to wipe off his fingerprints while they were stopped.
Police said the two men were Christopher and Ramon Preciado and that they discussed how to dispose of the bodies of Soto and Guerra, which were in the Kia. Police said Romanos was the person in the truck who threw the towel.
The father and son were arrested on Jan. 3. Romanos was arrested a week later. The three lived together in a house in the 5000 block of Charlie Chan Drive, near the Colinas at Medical Apartments.
Police said Christopher Preciado killed the couple after they met with him to sell him marijuana.
Both Ramon Preciado and Romanos have pre-hearings set for April 16.