A Willcox man whose right leg was amputated last year while he awaited trial in the Cochise County jail on molestation charges has been indicted on similar charges in Pima County, although he remains out of custody in both cases because of medical issues.
Andres Romero Flores was arrested by Willcox officers on June 6, 2019 for allegedly molesting an underage female relative in 2010 and 2011 at a home in Cochise County. It is unclear from available court records when or how Romero came under investigation.
Romero, now 72, has also been indicted by a Pima County grand jury on multiple felonies of sexual conduct with a minor under the age of 15 involving the same victim from 2007 to 2010 in Tucson. A May 5 case management conference at Pima County Superior Court is scheduled on the older offenses.
The next court date for the Cochise County charges against Romero was unavailable at press time. Arizona’s sentencing guidelines call for Romero to be sentenced to decades in prison if he’s convicted of all charges in both counties.
However, it’s unclear if Romero is medically able to stand trial, according to court records.
Romero was initially ordered in June 2019 to remain in the Cochise County jail in lieu of $100,000 bail. A justice of the peace set the high bail based on a belief that Romero posed a danger to the victim and for statements he made to investigators about intending to flee the country.
But on Oct. 18, Romero was ordered released from custody without bail by Judge Laura Cardinal due to his need for extensive medical care. That medical care stems from the amputation of his right foot and later his leg after he developed an infection in a toe, according to court records.
Romero alleges that around July 23, 2019, he was using the jail shower when a metal shower knob fell on the big toe of his right foot. He reportedly informed jail staff of the injury but a few days later he sought additional medical care after the pain worsened. By then his toenail became discolored and loose, Romero says, and he was in great pain.
Eventually Romero’s toe was removed. Over the next several weeks, he continued to receive medical treatment at the direction of the county’s health department. Then in mid-September, Romero was taken to Tucson Medical Center where his right foot was amputated.
Shortly after, another surgery was performed to amputate Romero’s right leg at the knee. Throughout this time, Romero remained an inmate of the county jail and had little say in directing his medical care.
The amputation led to a $2.5 million notice of claim filed against Cochise County in January. The claim, which must be made prior to initiating a lawsuit, was filed on Romero’s behalf by Joel Robbins, a Phoenix-based personal injury litigator.
In the claim, Robbins alleges Romero lost his leg “as a result of the neglect and or conscious disregard for Mr. Romero’s medical condition.” County officials declined to comment on the claim, which was forwarded to the county’s risk management carrier.
The Cochise County Sheriff’s Office has released detention reports for three days of the more than four months Romero was in custody. One of the reports addresses observations made by a detention officer on July 26, a few days after Romero claims he suffered the toe injury.
“As I approached the cell I noticed (Romero) was lying on the ground and his cellmate..,began to tell me inmate Romero had fallen and needed medical attention,” the report states, adding that when two detention officers entered the cell, Romero did not respond “and appeared to be unconscious.”
A detention sergeant was called, after which additional efforts were made to ascertain Romero’s condition. At one point an ammonia stick was used to roust Romero, and a few minutes later he was standing, according to the report.
The report makes no mention of any foot injury nor whether medical staff was called to the cell. Other officer reports related to Romero’s medical care were not released by the sheriff’s office due to privacy concerns.
Three months later, Romero left the jail on his own recognizance after a public defender brought the matter to Cardinal’s attention. The judge ordered Romero to have no contact with the victim and prohibited him from having contact with any minor children. Any violations could result in revocation of his pretrial release, Cardinal warned Romero.
Robbins, the attorney handling Romero’s civil claim against Cochise County, is also representing the family of Clay Mathis, who have filed a lawsuit which alleges medical malpractice and wrongful death for Mathis’s September 2018 suicide in the county jail.