Ankle monitor on missing 19-year-old out of jail on bond raises more questions than answers

HARRIS COUNTY, Texas - According to Harris County Pre-Trial Services, 4,025 defendants in Harris County are wearing electronic monitoring devices as a condition of bond.

The agency says no one actually checks in person when the device records a violation.

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Relatives of Alexander Silva, or AJ, as they call him, say the last time they saw him was last April 5 on Easter Sunday.

"Every time I think about him, I remember him saying, ‘I love you, mom,’ then he gave me a hug, that was it," said his mother, Conception Moreno.

More than five months have passed with no word from Silva. Relatives believe that’s because he’s dead.

"It’s just not like him to not contact or need something from us," said Silva’s cousin, Jennifer Hart.

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Silva is charged with felony retaliation. As part of his bond conditions, he was ordered to start wearing an ankle monitor last January.

"I was like, Ok, he’s got an electronic monitoring device, they should know where he is. It pings every one minute," said Silva’s mother.

According to court records, Silva violated his curfew requirements from April 11 through April 14.

He was also cited for being within the victim exclusion zone and tampering with the monitor on April 16.

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Pre-Trial Services, the agency in charge of keeping track of defendants on ankle monitors, tells us they tried to reach Silva by phone, which is standard procedure.

"If you’re not getting an answer, or he’s not there, why don’t you go out there to look?" Moreno said. "I feel like that was wrong."

"If they weren’t handing out ankle monitors like candy, these re-offenders wouldn’t be out hurting people or getting hurt," Hart said.

Last June. the court gave Silva’s electronic monitoring records to the family. The records show he spent several hours at a warehouse on Lumberdale. On April 17, the last time Silva’s monitor pinged was in the 4200 block of Dacoma. Then in the 9600 block of West TC Jester.

Anyone with information should call HPD Missing Persons Division at (713) 884-3131.