Man accused of murdering 2 Baytown teens makes first court appearance
BAYTOWN, Texas (KTRK) -- Dressed in jailhouse orange and not uttering a word, Brandon Flores made a brief first appearance inside a Chambers County courthouse Thursday morning.
He is charged with the 2015 murders of two Baytown teens, Alejandro Chavez and Jarvis Morgan.
The victims' families audibly gasped in court when Flores pled not guilty, a standard practice during initial court appearances.
"It's tough for any family to go through a murder, the murder of a child, and when you have someone that's fled, and gone for three years, it's a long time coming," said Cheryl Lieck, Chambers County district attorney.
Flores has been in jail in Mexico since 2016. But it took two years for extradition procedures to bring him back to face charges in Texas. His new defense attorney, just on the case Thursday, opened the door to a possible plea deal.
"We're always open to listening to any offer, and we're obligated to take that to our clients," said defense attorney Ed Lieck. "It doesn't mean, however, that we're open at this time to accept a plea and enter a plea."
The district attorney says a deal is possible, but the window is quickly closing.
"If they want to talk about something they can stomach, then the time for them to talk to me is now, because the closer we get to trial, all bets are off," said DA Lieck.
Family members of the two young men have been open to talking to the media before. However, after Thursday's hearing, they were quickly ushered out. DA Lieck told reporters that there was a gag order on the case. When pressed on how that's possible when she was speaking, she said there was going to be a gag order on the case, and that she preferred the families not speak out.
Flores' attorney says he was going to ask for bail, but admits it's unlikely given he is charged with capital murder and had previously escaped to Mexico.
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