By Karen Gleason
The 830 Times
A state district judge has denied a request for a drastic reduction in bail by a Del Rio woman accused of murder and tampering with evidence in the June stabbing death of another woman.
Kyandra Renee Faz, 22, was back in state district court on Thursday, Nov. 12, where
on Thursday, Nov. 12, for a bond reduction hearing. Faz’s bond was not reduced following the
hearing. (Courtesy photo/Val Verde County Sheriff’s Office)
her attorneys called the $5.1 million bail on which she is now being held “unreasonable.”
Faz was charged with murder and tampering with evidence following the stabbing death of Caroline Pena, 32, on June 25. Pena was stabbed during an altercation outside Faz’s home at 801 E. 10th St. Following the altercation, Pena was taken to Val Verde Regional Medical Center, then to a hospital in San Antonio, where she died of her wounds.
Faz and two other women, sisters Kitty Mia Diaz and Amaya Cookie Diaz, were charged with murder following Pena’s death, and $5 million bail was set for each.
Faz previously sought a reduction in the amount of her bond, but the judge in that hearing increased the amount of her bail to $5.1 million. The judge in that hearing added $100,000 to the original $5 million because Faz had also been charged with the offense of tampering with evidence.
On Thursday, Faz was represented by attorneys John T. Hunter and Thomas J. Lane, with the San Antonio law firm of Hunter, Lane & Jampala. District Attorney Suzanne West and Assistant District Attorney Daniel Esquivel represented the state.
The hearing was held in the second-floor courtroom of the Val Verde County Judicial Center on South Main Street. Heightened security was clearly visible outside and inside the courthouse, with extra deputies on the ground floor and in the courtroom.
Members of Faz’s family were seated on one side of the courtroom, and two members of Pena’s family were seated on the other side of the courtroom. Shortly before the start of the hearing at 9 a.m., a group of women entered the courtroom and sat behind Pena’s relatives.
The women began speaking in loud whispers and casting angry glances at Faz’s relatives. At least two of the women were cautioned to silence by courtroom bailiffs.
63rd Judicial District Judge Roland Andrade opened the hearing, and Lane immediately asked if Faz could be brought into the courtroom.
“Let’s bring her in,” Andrade said, indicating to bailiffs to escort Faz into the courtroom.
A female deputy walked Faz to a seat at the defense table. Faz was dressed head to toe in orange scrubs, and she was handcuffed and shackled.
After Faz was settled, Andrade invited Lane to call his first witness. Lane called Del Rio Police Department Detective Darian Castro, the lead investigator in the Pena murder case.
Through questions by Lane, Castro described how he had become involved in the case. Castro said at first Faz was not a suspect in the case. He said she did not become a suspect until detectives collected and reviewed doorbell camera footage that recorded the confrontation that resulted in Pena’s stabbing.
Lane questioned Castro about the video footage, and Castro said the video showed Pena and her nephew arriving outside Faz’s home on East Eighth Street in a black pickup, then showed Pena approaching the front door of the residence.
Lane continued to ask questions about the video, and Castro testified the video also showed the Diaz sisters arriving shortly after. Castro said the video showed Amaya Diaz holding “a sharp object” believed to be a knife and walking up to Pena.
Under additional questions from Lane about the video, Castro testified Faz is not seen on the video until after Amaya Diaz allegedly stabbed Pena. Castro also testified the video showed Faz assaulting Pena after Pena was stabbed.
Lane asked that portions of the video be played in the courtroom, which Andrade allowed.
Lane went through the video, sometimes second by second, asking Castro to narrate what was shown. One of the first questions Lane asked was if Castro knew why Pena had driven to Faz’s home to begin with.
Castro said it is his current understanding Pena believed $50 was stolen from her nephew, and she and the nephew went to Faz’s house “to argue about it.”
During the questioning, Castro also testified that at no time during the incident was there ever a weapon seen in Faz’s hands.
“I didn’t see any weapon,” Castro testified.
After going through the video, asking questions throughout, Lane asked if Castro had found any “contradictions” in statements Faz had made to police, and Castro said initially Faz painted herself as the victim of the incident and told police the Diaz sisters were “defending her.”
West had the opportunity to cross-examine Castro, and she began by asking the detective about outbursts Faz had made after her arrest. In one instance, Castro testified, Faz became angry when she learned she was being arrested, and at that time, she said, “F*** that bitch. I would do it again if I could.”
West also questioned Castro about how Faz came to be charged with tampering, and the detective said Faz can be seen on the video picking up a red ballcap following the altercation and smearing blood on a pickup — not Pena’s — parked in front of Faz’s residence.
Under questioning by West, Castro also testified Faz, at the time of the altercation, was on probation for a human smuggling conviction in federal court from 2023.
After West finished her initial cross-examination, Lane followed up with a series of questions, then West had the opportunity to ask several more questions of her own.
Once Castro finished his testimony, Andrade asked Lane and Hunter to call their next witness.
The attorneys told the court they wished to proffer the information their second witness, Petra Ortiz, would provide.
Hunter said Faz is indigent, and her only income is $700 she receives in government assistance every month. He called the $5.1 million bail “excessive.”
Hunter told the court, “There is no ability for Miss Faz to remotely make a $5.1 million bond.”
Faz’s attorney also argued Faz’s involvement in the altercation with Pena does not warrant so high a bail.
“She did not stab Caroline Pena,” Hunter said.
He noted Faz does not have a passport, has no ties to anyone in Mexico and has strong ties to the Del Rio community.
Hunter also pointed out Amaya Diaz, the woman believed to have stabbed Pena, is out on bond and said Faz’s angry statements when she was arrested do not rise to the level of her being “a danger to the community.”
He asked the court to lower Faz’s bail to $150,000 for the two charges. He added the court could order Faz to be confined at home and to wear an electronic monitoring device.
When it was her turn to address the court, West argued $150,000 bail “is not reasonable in a murder case” and pointed out Faz was already on supervised release when the altercation with Pena occurred.
West pointed out Faz assaulted Pena after Pena had been stabbed and that Faz had to be pulled off Pena.
“This is a person who does not need to be out on the street,” West said.
The district attorney added if Faz’s bail were lowered and she was able to get out, West requested Faz be ordered confined to her home and be made to wear an ankle monitor.
Hunter spoke to the court again and once more argued Faz was not the aggressor in the incident and said Pena was “terrorizing” Faz. He also reiterated Amaya Diaz, who is the person believed to have stabbed Pena, is out on bond.
West responded, “The state did not have the opportunity to make statements” in Amaya Diaz’s bond reduction hearing.
After hearing from both sides and listening to the evidence presented, Andrade ordered Faz’s bond to remain unchanged. He said he found Faz was on supervised release from the federal government when the incident with Pena occurred, and “the safety of the community is an issue.”
Hunter announced he planned to appeal Andrade’s order.
As soon as Andrade ended the hearing and left the courtroom, the sheriff’s office bailiffs whisked Faz out of the courtroom, down to the first floor and into a waiting van to return her to the county jail.
Other bailiffs in the courtroom kept audience members in their seats until Faz was out of the courthouse.
After the hearing, West spoke to the members of Pena’s family in the audience.
A short time later, as audience members began leaving, members of Faz’s family and one member of Pena’s family engaged in a shouting match outside the courthouse. Both Pena’s relative and Faz’s relatives hurled insults at each other in Spanish as deputies posted outside the courthouse made sure the confrontation between the two sides remained a verbal one.
The writer can be reached at delriomagnoliafan@gmail.com.
