[{"_1":2,"_87":-5,"_88":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":56,"_74":56},"mediaId",6241768,"mediaKeyId","3253901-75dc5021d224f70bc7b4e11f223b1cc0","parentId",3253901,"title","Club owner testifies he kneeled on patron to stop alleged weapon reach; video, radios and body-cam footage disputed","audioSeconds",2768,"startMs",3221000,"endMs",5989000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=3253901-75dc5021d224f70bc7b4e11f223b1cc0&start=3221&end=5989","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3253901-75dc5021d224f70bc7b4e11f223b1cc0/thumbnail_3221000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6241768/Texas/Club-owner-testifies-he-kneeled-on-patron-to-stop-alleged-weapon-reach-video-radios-and-body-cam-footage-disputed","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6241768-eb446567b529d44c404cab63a6fb3734/orig.mp4?Expires=1770483061&Signature=YPE~~chfvH8rL8qksN6Y78Wq22KJTQERF2sW93-facOo8c7kEKlbdaSKeyBFsEJuwxdXc8~guNezxtYYuaC01hJ4sX8oQtmtX0gKYXE494QY2Wdm84AZ0Wkjh5QOLYV93v6pc1mf58EyASNiyVJXRUUiTOaRsBt5gGlzQsVQSptovL~9EqSdHGtUHdLgQIqJ1SMMSAQUbAQdOTcL7pxTmcUPZ8CF9G3y~Vhl2bwWlOmCu4MGvvAeaLrZUZm9mWWJ8nf~nIDPPmlcNB2gK0Pnccpoqh6R3YcRroTW6J82gB4rWVi79pZY8~wGhGA3Hyx63uxWEQjHGVguDjbDqywt2A__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","","date","2025-05-10T00:17:06.737Z","article","Mariano Rendon, the owner and on-floor host at El Volcán, testified under oath that he put “1 knee on his stomach” to stop a patron from reaching toward a security guard’s holster during an altercation in the early morning hours of Aug. 20, 2023.

Rendon told jurors the club’s dance floor was crowded and dimly lit when he saw a pile of people attacking someone: “I saw, like, just a ball, and then people were getting away. So I knew there was something.” He said he ran into the group, pushed people off and then placed a knee on the man to prevent the man’s hands from getting close to the guard’s weapon: “His his hands were touching the holster.”

The state admitted into evidence a phone recording and a cell‑phone video that Rendon said show only the final portion of the altercation. Rendon described his own surveillance footage as “very hazy,” and he told the court that club strobe lighting and camera placement made full review difficult. He said the video that later circulated did not show him approaching and peeling people off the pile.

Rendon also testified that a security radio and a baton went missing after the incident. He said the club “started GPSing it” and that the device’s ping showed a location at a tire shop and later in Nixon, Texas; Rendon told the court investigators and local police were shown the GPS information. He said he and staff flagged the missing equipment and attempted to locate it but that they did not recover the baton and the radio stopped functioning after a short period.

The witness described standard closing procedures at the club—removing beer buckets and announcing last call around 1:45 a.m. and requiring patrons to stop drinking by 2:15 a.m. under Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission rules. Rendon estimated the club’s floor area at about 10,000 square feet and its capacity in the upper hundreds; he said he typically staffs between eight and 13 security officers on busy nights and that the TABC-required minimum for his venue size is roughly three security officers.

Rendon testified his staff took photos documenting visible injuries to security personnel that night and that a porter later went to the hospital with a dislocated shoulder. He acknowledged he did not initially provide every internal camera recording or body-worn camera footage to law enforcement and said some footage was not turned over because it either was not available or because the club’s system had produced hazy video; he said the club did provide the dance-floor footage and the door camera clip that investigators used.

On cross-examination, the state questioned Rendon about the timing and completeness of materials he gave to police, why some interior cameras and any body-cam footage were not turned over, and whether his account changed after a clearer video clip showing him kneeing a patron surfaced weeks later. Rendon said multiple conversations and text exchanges with patrons followed the incident as he attempted to de‑escalate and reconcile with those involved.

No verdict was reached during Rendon’s testimony; the defense later rested. The trial record contains disputed video clips, photos of injuries, GPS tracking information for a missing radio and testimony from multiple witnesses about the club’s operations and security procedures.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","FRI., MAY 9, 2025/JUDGE STEPHANIE BOYD/187TH DISTRICT COURT/AFTERNOON DOCK & JURY; STATE VS RENDON","oneSentenceSummary","Mariano Rendon, owner and host at El Volcán, testified in a trial over an Aug. 20, 2023, brawl that he used a knee to stop a patron he said was reaching toward a security guard’s holster. Rendon said surveillance video is hazy, a security radio and baton went missing after the incident and GPS pings showed the radio later in Nixon, Texas.","taxTitle","Judge Stephanie Boyd 187th District, District Court Judges, Judicial, Texas","taxId",66298,"location","Texas","headline","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":56,"_74":56},6241773,"Judge sentences Hank Maldonado to 12 months in state jail after no-contest pleas",340,798000,1138000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3253901-75dc5021d224f70bc7b4e11f223b1cc0&start=798&end=1138","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3253901-75dc5021d224f70bc7b4e11f223b1cc0/thumbnail_798000.jpg","/articles/6241773/Texas/Judge-sentences-Hank-Maldonado-to-12-months-in-state-jail-after-no-contest-pleas","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6241773-a16e4e311fd0356b24b85caaf108d4bb/orig.mp4?Expires=1770483061&Signature=jQlsrnDE~WEcIJo3u3Cbmq4eQ3UrJ2-tnEfnU67HOCgBdubDSCtLxsEee2dmzjBmGDMBIfmGMNbWWdxkzOi4lX2vCHlIcfsAAV5UIQeI8iRiJ93MibZVUJ16Tjbm0-Mxar8d5Gqe92F-pyAfrBF-VhMCRkgBPwhbWBJOW9BjQHDqBJ-uD4-dQXceB-LNr8Ags0QtmUGqK3NQo06gcVihpCKMSPHVXzLV-KETNsekq5xJvq2rrMdxgipDAhQwjyHwyRieUcGU2vgnoz9AR6LTwFkR-309aXFS9ff0LWAbhOwA29J5rifugWOAMeSDmNfp~F8~4QYWg89nrW3cLBQFQQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Judge Stephanie Boyd, presiding judge of the 187th District Court, on the record in Bexar County on Aug. 20, accepted Hank Maldonado’s no-contest pleas and sentenced him to 12 months in a state jail facility on each case, to run concurrently.

The sentence followed the court’s announcement that “the state is opposed to your application,” and the judge told Maldonado that because he had waived appeal rights under the plea agreement, he did not have permission to appeal. The judge also ordered restitution and a no-contact condition with two named individuals and advised Maldonado that, as a felony, the convictions bar him from owning or possessing weapons or ammunition.

The court and counsel reviewed the presentence investigation report during the hearing. A probation officer told the court, “Meeting the PSI seems that mister Maldonado is still in denial about certain things,” including his history of drug use and failures to appear. Defense counsel David McLean argued for probation, saying, “I think he could be successful on probation. I do. He’s got a business,” and asked the court to consider deferred adjudication.

Judge Boyd recited Maldonado’s criminal history on the record and cited multiple prior controlled-substance arrests, a prior revocation that led to a two-year sentence, and a 2011 vehicle burglary sentence. The judge said Maldonado’s failure to appear for earlier court dates weighed against granting probation and found incarceration appropriate under the parties’ plea agreement: “In each cause number, the court is gonna find you guilty, sending you to 12 months in the state jail facility. The cause numbers were run concurrently.”

The court further noted the plea paperwork had been reviewed with Maldonado—“Did you review the documents entitled trial court certification of defendant’s rights to appeal in each of these cause numbers?”—to which Maldonado replied, “Yes, I did, judge.” The judge reminded him of collateral consequences, including the weapons prohibition and the waiver of appeal, and recommended therapeutic-community programming as part of the court record.

No formal motion for appeal or post-sentencing action was granted at the hearing. Maldonado was advised of the sentence, conditions, and the court’s expectations before the session concluded.","Judge Stephanie Boyd sentenced Hank Maldonado to concurrent 12-month terms in a state jail facility after Maldonado entered no-contest pleas; the state opposed deferred probation and the court ordered restitution and no-contact conditions.","actionData","errors"]

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Club owner testifies he kneeled on patron to stop alleged weapon reach; video, radios and body-cam footage disputed

Judge sentences Hank Maldonado to 12 months in state jail after no-contest pleas