‘Kino' Flores booked, released from Travis County jail

UPDATED STORY

State Rep. Ismael “Kino” Flores turned himself in to Travis County authorities Monday, three days after he was indicted on charges of perjury and tampering with government documents.

The Palmview Democrat arrived at the downtown Austin jail with his attorneys just before 3:30 p.m. and was released within two hours, according to police.

A judge granted the representative a personal recognizance bond, meaning he will only have to spend time in a jail cell if he fails to show up for scheduled court dates.

Neither Flores nor his Austin-based attorney – Roy Minton – returned calls for comment Monday, but they vowed to fight the charges in a statement released last week.

Flores, 50, stands accused of lying to a state ethics agency and failing to report more than $847,000 in personal assets on his financial disclosure forms between 2004 and this year.

As a state legislator, he is required to file annual reports with the Texas Ethics Commission showing where he earns his income, any gifts he receives and any property he owns.

Grand jurors found probable cause to suggest that Flores willfully hid properties he owned in Austin and the Rio Grande Valley as well as income he earned as a management consultant for 17 employers including Houston-based Dannenbaum Construction, the City of McAllen and InterNational Bank.

The lawmaker also failed to report gifts he and his son, Ismael Jr., received from lobbyists and a campaign contributor, according to the six separate indictments handed down against him.

Flores described the incomplete reports as an oversight in a statement released Friday.

If convicted on all counts, he could face up to two years in state jail and thousands of dollars in fines.

Jeremy Roebuck covers courts and general assignments for The Monitor. You can reach him at (956) 683-4437.