Mother and Son Suspects Waive Prelims in Laramie Burglary

Christine Mendez-Rayos and Robert D. McIntyre, a mother and son who are facing charges in a Laramie Burglary, have both waived their preliminary hearings and will be bound over to Albany County District Court.

Both Mendez-Rayos and McIntyre had been scheduled to appear, separately, for preliminary hearings in Circuit Court Tuesday, however since both suspects decided to waive those hearings, the cases were automatically bound to District Court.  Mendez-Rayos did not appear in court at all Tuesday afternoon, however McIntyre did use the time previously scheduled for his preliminary hearing to ask Judge Robert Castor to reconsider McIntyre’s bond.

McIntyre was being held on a $20,000 cash-only bond, following his initial appearance on August 23rd.  During the hearing on Tuesday, however, McIntyre’s attorney Vaughn Neubauer argued that because he McIntyre was employed in Albany County and that he had several personal ties to the area, he did not present a flight risk.  Further, Judge Castor allowed Neubauer to present friends of McIntyre’s to address the court and say that McIntyre was an individual who would not flee the county and would make all scheduled court appearances.

Two of McIntyre’s high school teachers spoke about McIntyre saying that, when in the right environment, McIntyre was a well-behaved and productive individual.  One of the teachers and Neubauer both told Judge Castor that McIntyre’s behavior was sometimes influenced by bad environments, Neubauer going as far as to indicate that Mendez-Rayos was a bad influence on McIntyre.

Judge Castor did change McIntyre’s bond to that of a $20,000 signature bond.  Meaning that McIntyre has to follow all the provisions of his bond including not violating any law, not consuming alcohol or controlled substances, and not leaving Albany County among others.

Mendez-Rayos had received a signature bond during her initial appearance on the 23rd.  A provision for both suspects is that they not have any contact, indirect or direct, with each other.