The case involving a Hollister man who is on the run and suspected of molesting a 5-year-old girl has underscored two major systematic flaws, one locally and one on the federal level, along with questionable judgment in allowing him to be free without bail considerations in the first place.
Arnaldo Hernandez – also known as Arnaldo Gomez – was set for a court hearing about two weeks ago after agreeing to a plea deal to a charge of lewd and lascivious acts against a child under age 14. He was accused of molesting the young girl about a year earlier.
There was a stipulation that a doctor’s evaluation of Hernandez’s mental status would influence the sentence, ranging from probation to eight years in prison. Hernandez was set for that evaluation about two weeks ago, but failed to appear and is now a wanted fugitive.
Aside from questions remaining as to why Hernandez was allowed to remain free without any bail considerations – Hollister police after its investigation submitted a report to the district attorney, whose office told the suspect to get booked at the jail – there are now additional questions as well.
On a local level, it showed there are major security flaws at the aging courthouse, which will be replaced by a new structure sometime next year. At the last hearing to which Hernandez appeared in February – when the plea deal was announced – there was an altercation when the victim’s family came across the suspect right outside the courthouse.
This simply cannot happen and, despite the antiquated structural deficiencies at the current courthouse, there must be better protocol in place to ensure suspect and victims’ families or friends do not encounter one another at such gatherings.
From a broader view, the case calls attention to a flaw with the federal immigration agency, which routinely puts holds on suspects who may be in the country illegally. The victim’s family claims he was an illegal immigrant. Unfortunately, there was no way of finding out within current databases. If he had never entered the system – Hernandez apparently had not – then there would be no flag in the immigration database to alert authorities to the possibility when he was initially arrested.
It’s a Catch-22 that must be fixed. With Hernandez, an immigration hold would have prevented what occurred two weeks ago, leaving, for now, a local family without justice.
