Reason is unclear for lengthy delay in making indictments public
Marfa
A Presidio County Jury indicted at least eight people on July 7, including two former Marfa ISD teachers charged with improper contact with students.
Juan Tarango Martinez — 55, of Marfa, was indicted on charges of indecency with a child/sexual contact and improper relationship between an educator and a student after allegedly fondling a Marfa ISD student. He was arrested on September 16, 2025. Martinez taught welding and the conjunto class at the high school. The district terminated him after the arrest. Martinez was jailed with $170,000 in bonds, but those were reduced to a personal recognizance (PR) bond. It is unclear from court records whether the change required any payment of fees from Martinez, who was released from jail on December 17. The change was the result of state law requiring judges to grant reduced or PR bonds if the defendant is in jail and the prosecutor is not ready for trial within 90 days.
Rebecca Romjin Ontiveros — 26, of Marfa –– was indicted on charges of improper relationship between an educator and a student. She was arrested on August 22, 2025, for allegedly developing a sexual relationship with a high school teen and was released the next day on a $75,000 bond. Marfa ISD had contracted her to teach pre-K just four days before her arrest, and she had previously served as an aide. She declined to accept the contract after her arrest.
While the newly-empaneled grand jury met on July 7, the indictments were not filed with the Presidio County District Clerk until August 19 — some 43 days later. After a grand jury indicts, the district judge reviews each case to see if there needs to be any changes in bond amounts, then signs off on the indictment and sends it to the district clerk to start a case file. If a defendant is not in jail or was not arrested and out on bond, the indictment is sealed. Otherwise, it’s immediately public — the latter being the status in the vast majority of indictments. In general, judges usually send the indictments to the clerk within two to three days.
It’s unclear why it took so long for District Judge Monty Kimball to file the indictments with the clerk, and he did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 83rd District Attorney Ori White’s office did not respond to a request for comment on the time it took to bring the charges to a grand jury.
Also indicted on July 7 were:
Ricardo Ely, possession of a controlled substance, PG 1 < 1G
Francisco Medrano Vazquez, aggravated sexual assault and indecency/sexual assault of a child
Ryan Day Fuentez, taking wildlife resources without consent
Devodrick Dondre Pride, unauthorized use of a vehicle
Carmen Torrence Cavaness, drug possession
John Richard Franco, burglary of a habitation
Not all July 7 indictments may be public yet, since the clerk does not make them public until they are in receipt of a return on a “precept,” a notice of the indictment served to the defendant. Serving those precepts can be done in a variety of ways, such as having a deputy or constable serve them personally, something rarely done anymore. If the defendant has legal counsel, an email with a reply from the attorney suffices. Presidio County sends certified letters to defendants without representation and waits for a signed return receipt.
