Court records show Andres Romero Flores died earlier this month, just weeks after being awarded $300,000 in a federal lawsuit stemming from three amputation surgeries he underwent in 2019 related to an injury suffered in the Cochise County jail.
Romero’s death means he will not face juries in Cochise and Pima counties on multiple charges involving the repeated molestation of one of his daughters from 2007 through 2011. It was those charges which led to his arrest and incarceration in 2019.
Romero, 74, was set for trial in Pima County starting Nov. 17 on eight felony charges of sexual misconduct with a minor, all considered dangerous crimes against a child. The victim was under age 15 when those offenses allegedly occurred at the family’s home in Tucson.
Among the evidence would have been a phone call between the victim and Romero in which he alluded to engaging in sexual abuse when she was a minor. Other female family members would have also been called to testify.
Once that trial was finished, Romero would have stood before a Cochise County jury on charges he molested the same daughter after the family moved to Willcox.
Instead, prosecutors in both counties filed requests on Sept. 10 for dismissal of the cases due to Romero’s death on Sept. 7.
Public records show he had been ill and under a physician’s care at the time. The circumstances did not warrant an autopsy, according to the Pima County Medical Examiner.
Romero was taken into custody in June 2019 by the Willcox Police Department. He was ordered held in the county jail on a $100,000 bond due to concerns he would flee to Mexico.
In July 2019, Romero suffered an infected toe following an incident in the jail shower. Over the three months he underwent a surgical procedure to amputate the toe, followed by surgery to remove his right foot.
Another surgery in September 2019 removed the rest of Romero’s right leg from the knee down, after which the Cochise County Attorney’s Office obtained a court order releasing the defendant from custody to await trial.
A $2.5 million negligence lawsuit filed in July 2020 in U. S. District Court alleged medical negligence against several Cochise County employees in the sheriff’s office and health department. But the lawsuit was dismissed in April after the parties negotiated a settlement which called for Romero to receive $300,000 in exchange for releasing all parties from claims arising from his incarceration.
The settlement notes Medicare had a beneficiary lien against the settlement for more than $53,000 for Romero’s medical care. In addition, $100,000 of the settlement was retained by the Law Office of Joel B. Robbins for legal services and case costs.
