SAN ANTONIO – Nearly a month after 17-year-old Moncerrat “Monce” Martinez Maldonado was struck and killed while walking home from work, her mother is demanding answers after the suspected driver received a reduced bond.
During a hearing on Monday, a judge cut down 19-year-old Vynzell Edward McGarity’s bond from $100,000 to $50,000. He was charged with reckless driving and racing on a highway causing serious bodily injury for the June 28 crash.
San Antonio police said McGarity was traveling eastbound on Southwest Military Drive, near Mango Avenue, in a Dodge Charger at a high rate of speed.
McGarity switched lanes and struck Maldonado as she attempted to cross the street, according to a police report.
McGarity is required to be on full house arrest, submit to random drug and alcohol testing, and cannot drive or be in possession of a firearm.
Sandra Maldonado, Monce’s mother, said her daughter was more than a victim in a deadly crash. She was a high school senior with plans to become a nurse, someone who loved animals and looked for ways to help others.
“She was a really cheerful girl. She would take food from her job and give it to people living on the street,” Maldonado told KSAT in Spanish.
Monce worked at El Pollo Loco on Southwest Military Drive when she was killed.
“She still played with toys,” Maldonado said. “She was just a girl, and he took that from her.”
Maldonado said she knew something was wrong the night Monce didn’t come home.
Instead of receiving a phone call, she got into her vehicle and drove to the restaurant where her daughter worked. She searched the parking lot, drove through the drive-thru and called out Monce’s name. As she continued searching, Maldonado’s older daughter mentioned hearing reports about a fatal crash nearby.
“My daughter said, ‘Mama, it’s Monce,’” she said. “I yelled at her, ‘Don’t tell me that. That’s not my daughter. I’m going to wait for the police.’ I went outside and sat on the sidewalk waiting.”
Maldonado said she later learned the victim was her daughter.
Since learning of McGarity’s bond reduction, Maldonado said it has been difficult news to accept.
“She was on her way home, and because of his recklessness, he killed her,” Maldonado said. “He still can go home, he can sleep in his bed. He can watch television. He can hug his mom. My Monce can’t do any of that anymore.”
The family’s attorney, Anthony Alcoser, criticized both the bond reduction and what he said was a lack of communication with the family before the hearing.
“What’s even more concerning is that no one from the DA’s office or the Victim Advocate Office notified my client about this hearing,” Alcoser said.
Alcoser also questioned whether the conditions of McGarity’s release adequately protect the public.
“Reducing this bond for this individual who had prior records for racing. Yes, he’s on an ankle monitor, he’s in a house, but that’s not stopping him from getting in the car and racing again. After the court’s actions yesterday, the streets are unsafer tonight.”
Court records also show this was not McGarity’s first encounter with law enforcement involving his driving.
In March, San Antonio police arrested McGarity on a reckless driving charge after an officer reported seeing his vehicle fishtail while accelerating through the intersection of Bowie Street and East Commerce Street.
The report stated officers found a speeding ticket in McGarity’s pocket that had been issued the day before. The citation alleged he was driving 90 mph in a 70 mph zone.
Maldonado said nothing will bring her daughter back, but she hopes her story will ensure Monce is remembered for who she was rather than only how she died.
She described the pain of losing an only child she raised as a single mother, saying Monce still slept beside her and had a future ahead of her. Now, she said, her focus is on seeking justice.
“I won’t stop until there is justice for my daughter,” Maldonado told KSAT. “I know they are not going to bring her back, but I don’t want her death to go without justice.”
Alcoser said the family is offering a $2,500 cash reward for information about the other vehicles police believe were racing with McGarity the night Monce was killed.
Previous coverage of this story on KSAT: