DA responds to disturbing video of ex-Astros prospect hitting then-girlfriend

Thursday, March 15, 2018
The Nueces County district attorney is coming to the defense of a decision that allowed a former Astros prospect to skip jail time after he was seen beating his then-girlfriend.

DA Mark Gonzalez posted a video on Facebook in which he responded to the disturbing video involving Danry Vasquez.
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In surveillance video, Vasquez was recorded repeatedly hitting his then-girlfriend in the stairwell.

"Here at the DA's office, we see that everyday. What we're trying to stop from seeing is when someone gets murdered," Gonzalez said.

Vasquez was charged in Nueces County with assault bodily injury of a family member for the incident in 2016.

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Vasquez recently completed a diversion program and the charges were dismissed.



"It doesn't matter if you're a (Corpus Christi) Hook, a refinery worker, a teacher or anything," Gonzalez said. "You're going to get the same deal, which is we want you to get help and education. That way the case doesn't escalate and you don't do worse things."
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He added that the victim didn't want to press charges.

"There were no means legally that we could have brought her for a misdemeanor all the way from Florida unless she was cooperating -- which she was not," Gonzalez added.

Late Tuesday, the Lancaster Barnstormers, of the independent Atlantic League, released Vasquez from their team.



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