By JONATHAN ZWEYGARDT
Hays Post
A Hays man who is accused of murder in the drug overdose death of his infant son was back in court Tuesday, asking that the charges against him be thrown out.
According to court filings, Abraham Duran Leon, 29, Hays, filed five motions in the three current cases he has pending in Ellis County District Court.
The most recent charge is murder following the April 2024 incident that led to the death of his son. Leon also faces drug possession, criminal damage to property and interference charges.
All five motions were filed pro se, or on his own, without a lawyer.
Leon argued in his motions that his right to due process was violated because court paperwork was not filed on time. He also argued his Fifth, Sixth and Eighth Amendments were violated during the process.
He claimed the judge should dismiss the charges against him because he believes several of his rights have been violated.
Among the complaints Leon discussed was a bond he felt was “excessive.”
District Court Judge Glenn Braun dismissed or ruled that all five filings by Leon were inappropriate.
Braun called Leon a “safety risk to the community” and said a $500,000 bond is “more than reasonable” in a murder case.
Leon also claimed his court-appointed attorneys had not raised the issues he did with the court, which was grounds for the charges' dismissal.
His first court-appointed attorney, Cheryl Stewart, withdrew from the case, and Leon, in his motions, claimed his most recent attorneys, Christopher Rohr and Cassy Zeigler, were not adequately representing him, and he wanted them withdrawn from the case as well.
He said they failed to mention the rights violations he claimed he had experienced in the case, which is grounds for dismissal.
Braun told Leon the court is running out of attorneys to represent him in a murder trial, and just because he disagrees with the advice of counsel does not mean he has to have a new attorney appointed to his case.
"We all want to do what we want to do, even if it's not in our best interest," Braun said. "But that's not the standard we use…for withdrawal of counsel."
Zeigler was representing Leon in the drug and criminal damage to property case. Rohr was recently appointed to represent him in the murder case.
Braun assigned Rohr and Zeigler as co-counsels in all three cases.
Braun also cautioned Leon not to continue to file pro se motions and instead work with his attorneys.
“You can discuss with your attorneys whether they believe motions such as suppression of evidence (and)) motion to dismiss should be filed and pursued,” Braun said. “Those are strategies that they basically have the decision-making authority on. So, visit with them about that.”
The preliminary hearing in all three cases is scheduled for Nov. 13 in front of Braun.