[{"_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",6241752,"mediaKeyId","3253904-e7ba94c193036fe140cdb34a61689c82","parentId",3253904,"title","Club owner says he kneeled on patron amid brawl to stop alleged reach for guard’s weapon","audioSeconds",7599,"startMs",3220000,"endMs",10819000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=3253904-e7ba94c193036fe140cdb34a61689c82&start=3220&end=10819","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3253904-e7ba94c193036fe140cdb34a61689c82/thumbnail_3220000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6241752/Texas/Club-owner-says-he-kneeled-on-patron-amid-brawl-to-stop-alleged-reach-for-guards-weapon","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6241752-64f8da1eb259e4f47a30b315630358df/orig.mp4?Expires=1771043536&Signature=Sl8-4r9wyHPsg0mF3y38ykchUEnKVpeWJdEPtRuG-CFnSLE0ZCVUC~Cr96uzTVxmka~PcnhqlfVOGW4OHtUsuIwCu0W1-5eMhMTMo-E4-b3lFfFkBR-QuP12Tjgr9kfXfxy3E1olaxUQIBtlC3PYAaAazAgn9FUDXemtq4fKGTBrWP0y9BTwrktoQN49mILms7ZkRtysaK0-qCgYGZ1UVtxMtW5LrIrcRAYa7tOrFi0tZuICUKvWHxRpG3ihRZ~5kXmzrWr2u52ldDARk3kiqcreEEsovefVuioJ6YGtgDrbzhUY2rNxCKLisVDiyy0jctp3S1b-Pi5eccHPU2Mz7A__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","","date","2025-05-09T21:52:42Z","article","Mariano Rendon, owner and host at Joe’s Volcano/El Volcán, testified during a criminal trial in the 187th District Court that on Aug. 20, 2023, he ran into a crowd he described as “wailing on somebody,” pushed people off and “put one knee on his stomach” to stop what Rendon said appeared to be a reach toward a security officer’s holster.

Rendon told the court the club’s security officer, Anthony Cochran, was on top of a patron later identified as Pablo Rodriguez and that \"his hands were touching the holster,\" which prompted Rendon to place a knee on the patron’s midsection to create milliseconds for security to arrive. Rendon described the scene as dark and chaotic and said the club’s interior video footage was hazy and incomplete.

On the stand, Rendon described club operations and safety practices: the venue covers roughly 10,000 square feet, typically holds about 800–900 people at full capacity, and operates under Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission (TABC) closing rules that the staff enforces by removing beer buckets and picking up bottles between roughly 1:45 a.m. and 2:00 a.m. He said the club’s TABC-required minimum security runs three officers for the venue’s size but that he regularly tries to staff eight to 13 guards and uses porters to remove debris.

Rendon also testified that a security radio and a baton went missing after the fight. He said the radio’s GPS initially showed a location near the I‑10 and Loop 1604 area, then later pinged in Nixon, Texas, and that investigators and local officers were advised of those pings. \"We started GPSing it,\" Rendon told the court when describing the effort to locate the missing radio.

Rendon said staff created a perimeter and that club surveillance and several phone-recorded videos captured only parts of the incident. He testified the clip admitted into evidence seemed edited and did not show him running up and removing people from the pile. Defense exhibits including photographs of injuries were admitted without objection during Rendon’s testimony.

The witness described a patron named Tina (referred to in testimony as Tina Jimenez) and others who were present that night; he said post-incident communications with patrons included efforts to de-escalate and, according to Rendon, at times moved toward settlement discussions for injuries. Rendon said a porter named Calvin suffered a dislocated shoulder and missed subsequent work because of injuries from the fight.

The state cross-examined Rendon about why he kneeled the patron rather than grabbing hands or otherwise securing the weapon; Rendon repeatedly said the incident unfolded in milliseconds, that multiple individuals were involved and that he feared a weapon could be used if the holster were accessed. The defense rested after Rendon’s testimony; the jury was excused and told to return for closing arguments on Monday at 9:30 a.m.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","FRI., MAY 9, 2025/JUDGE STEPHANIE BOYD/187TH DISTRICT COURT/AFTERNOON DOCK & JURY; STATE VS RENDON","oneSentenceSummary","At a Bexar County trial, Mariano Rendon testified he put one knee on a patron’s stomach during an Aug. 20, 2023, fight at Joe’s Volcano/El Volcán to prevent the patron from reaching a security guard’s holster; testimony covered missing radios, hazy surveillance, and post-incident communications.","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},6241756,"Defendant Hank Maldonado sentenced to 12 months in state jail after no-contest pleas",420,798000,1218000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3253904-e7ba94c193036fe140cdb34a61689c82&start=798&end=1218","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3253904-e7ba94c193036fe140cdb34a61689c82/thumbnail_798000.jpg","/articles/6241756/Texas/Defendant-Hank-Maldonado-sentenced-to-12-months-in-state-jail-after-no-contest-pleas","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6241756-5574a55883d551afb0f36a5b68d9478f/orig.mp4?Expires=1771043537&Signature=niLvJGR0Rn6NX6xcsnmqpyGcP~MHc3s3V6eCOxbfIGqnNx4MPO7X1e9Oh~XOBYcRtNFta5MvITrPejXutD9gSXrOTUBHh6-5zCftyP7JfvfJbcjOs~gp02g89EaOlJGHbvr9UgtDcKN86rpkHmQNCQ9cJN51r18EBJuN3Haga7N8RHVt1zdBJa7Lu6a3dRV~11v2rfaAU0rleKZ7VtcHYZupJHi5DsDNSsg8BnOd8yrAl8qvfarLfCPZ5RFkzk-jGRgG4Wr~bQqopaGMRVPs7LMZAQpjgWPJtzl-PxIxVrdWG5LcqH2D9MM-CutHbU8mk-F2HrkHd-WuA1oP8pXJPg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Judge Stephanie Boyd of the 187th District Court on the record said Hank Maldonado entered no-contest pleas in two pending felony cause numbers and imposed concurrent sentences of 12 months in the state jail.

The judge told Maldonado that because these were felony convictions he could not possess weapons or ammunition and that, under the plea bargain, punishment would be capped at 12 months in a state jail facility. The court also ordered restitution and a no-contact condition with Richard Anthony Johnston and Felix Francisco Sintero Rivas and recommended placement in a therapeutic community.

The prosecutor, identified in court as Patrick Harris Sandler, confirmed the state opposed Maldonado’s application for deferred adjudication. Defense counsel David McLean asked the court to consider probation and argued Maldonado had not reoffended during a period of time out of custody and that evaluations recommended only urinalysis, not an intensive outpatient program.

Judge Boyd said the presentence investigation report (PSI) and Maldonado’s criminal history — including a prior probation revocation and failure to appear earlier this year — led the court to conclude Maldonado was not a good candidate for probation. \"In each of these cause number, you entered a plea of no contest according to your plea bargain ... punishment is to be assessed at a cap of 12 months in the state jail facility,\" the judge told Maldonado on the record.

Maldonado acknowledged reviewing documents titled \"trial court certification of defendant's rights to appeal\" and waived appeal under the terms of the plea bargain. The court informed him of collateral consequences tied to felony convictions, including the weapons prohibition. The court scheduled further court business and directed the parties to return on May 22 for related matters.

Court minutes show the parties had reviewed the PSI on the record and that the state took into consideration cause number 2024CR1039 when imposing concurrent sentences. The judge explicitly found Maldonado guilty under the plea agreement and imposed the sentences and conditions reflected above.

Maldonado was advised of the effect of the plea and that, as part of the plea bargain and because he waived appeal, he would not have the court’s permission to appeal.","In 187th District Court, Judge Stephanie Boyd accepted no-contest pleas from Hank Maldonado in two cause numbers and sentenced him to concurrent 12-month terms in the state jail, imposed restitution and no-contact conditions and denied the state’s application for deferred probation.","actionData","errors"]

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Club owner says he kneeled on patron amid brawl to stop alleged reach for guard’s weapon

Defendant Hank Maldonado sentenced to 12 months in state jail after no-contest pleas