Borderland Crimes, Podcast 1 Update: El Paso man who had murder conviction overturned released on PR bond

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) -- ABC-7 has confirmed that an El Paso man who had his 2019 murder conviction overturned by a state appellate court is no longer in prison.

The District Attorney’s Office tells ABC-7 Leonel Hernandez was released on a personal recognizance bond on March 16.

We reported back in Feb. when the state turned his case back over to the 168th district court, which is the court where Hernandez was tried for the 2016 murder of Richard Madrigal.

Madrigal, 32, was found shot to death in his west El Paso apartment on June 11, 2016.

Hernandez confessed to shooting Madrigal during an argument the night before, but the state appellate court agreed with Hernandez’s appeal that he should have been allowed to have an expert witness testify during his trial.

Hernandez was sentenced to 50 years in prison on March 22, 2019.

This case was the subject of my Borderland Crimes Podcast. Listen to the episode here.

ABC-7 reached out to Alejandro Austin, Madrigal’s older brother, to hear his response to Hernandez’s release.

“The D.A.'s office has dropped the ball on this case at every turn,” he said in an email. “I’m sure (former District Attorney Yvonne) Rosales’ mess has affected a number of cases, but this is ridiculous. We have an accused murderer who has spent four years in prison, where we are sure he didn’t pick up good habits and is also a flight risk, back in our community. We do not get a sense that this case is a priority for the DA’s office, as we are still in the dark without even an official notification of his release.”

The D.A.'s office told ABC-7 in February they fully intend to retry the case.

We are working to get the conditions of Hernandez’s bond.

Court records state there is a hearing in his case scheduled for April 30.