Hospital trustee criminal assault case

About six weeks after Ector County Hospital District trustee Abraham Torres turned himself in to police on misdemeanor charges in connection to reportedly assaulting the board's secretary, a plea bargain has yet to be reached and the case could go to trial.

Any lingering legal issues between Torres and the hospital board, however, have been resolved after he yielded to the board's threat to take legal action forcing the trustee to submit the paperwork at the heart of the dispute.  

Following the incident, the board convened for a special meeting on May 7 to discuss Torres' actions and officially admonished the local real estate business owner for allegedly hitting Delma Marin, then the board's secretary, with a "closed fist" when she and another hospital employee went to his office to pick up application paperwork for federal funding, according to Marin's written complaint.

After Marin pressed charges, police said, Torres turned himself in to the Ector County Sheriff's Office and posted bond.

During its special meeting on May 7, the board also threatened to take legal action if Torres persisted in his refusal to submit the paperwork, which officials said included routine personal information all board members must fill out to apply for federal reimbursement.

Since the meeting, hospital attorney Richard Buck said, Torres has filed the paperwork and complied with the board's requests, settling any possible further action by the hospital district. 

"We got that resolved," Buck said. "He voluntarily furnished that, and we appreciate it."

As for the criminal case, Ector County Attorney Cindy Weir-Nutter said, a deal could be reached at any time that keeps the case from going to court.

As to when or if the case will actually see a courtroom, Weir-Nutter said, it's "really hard to tell at this point."

If convicted, she said, Torres could face up to a $4,000 fine and no more than a year imprisonment.

Torres declined comment, directing press inquiries to his attorney.

"I just can't comment about anything right now," Torres said. "I wish I could, but I just can't."

Repeated attempts by the OA to reach Torres' attorney, Steve Brannan, have yielded no results.

Marin, who left her job at Medical Center Hospital shortly after filing charges against Torres, could not be reached for comment.