A judge rejected a prosecutor’s bid to jail a pregnant woman for allegedly committing a bond violation when she was pulled over last month for speeding and falsely identified herself to an officer. But the woman wound up in jail anyway.
Elsa Eva Murillo-Gonzalez, 41, who is nine months pregnant, surrendered to Pitkin County authorities Thursday morning after a warrant was issued for her arrest.
Prosecutor Andrea Bryan sought the warrant for Murillo-Gonzalez, a Roaring Fork Valley resident who has a rash of felony and misdemeanor charges dating to November 2013.
Even though the judge denied the bond revocation, Murillo-Gonzalez was sent to jail after the hearing because she missed her court appearance in Garfield County on Wednesday for the April arrest.
A deputy escorted her to Pitkin County Jail after the hearing, where she awaited extradition to Garfield County.
The bond hearing in Pitkin County District Court cast a spotlight on Murillo-Gonzalez’s troubled pregnancy and legal challenges. Murillo-Gonzalez wept through much of the hearing.
“I understand this is a unique situation,” Bryan told District Judge Gail Nichols, who presided over the hearing by telephone. “The people are asking for the court to set a high bond. It’s not that the people aren’t sympathetic to the situation, but frankly I think that one of the safest places for her at this time, and for her baby, would be in jail.”
Prior to turning herself in, Murillo-Gonzalez had been free on $50,000 bond on felony charges in Pitkin County connected to crimes including check forgery.
