Catch and Release Judges: Bible Discussion on Austin Bus Triggers Knife Attack by Career Criminal Who Was Released Again and Again

Rogerio Martinez Jr. was tired of hearing two passengers discuss the Bible on the back of Austin’s #3 bus.

So he stood up, pulled out a kitchen knife, and started stabbing.

He plunged the blade into one man’s back four times. When a brave stranger tried to stop him, Martinez stabbed him in the leg too. Blood was everywhere. The attacker stayed on the bus, covered in it, until police arrived.

One victim is in critical condition. The other is hospitalized. All because a man with a long, violent criminal history was allowed to roam free, again.

This is Catch and Release justice in Travis County under Soros-backed DA José Garza. Martinez had been cycling through the system for years with charges for aggravated robberies, strangling a family member, and beating an HEB security guard with her own flashlight. Every single time, prosecutors pled the cases down or dismissed them. Every single time, the system found a reason to put him back on the street.

Now two innocent people are fighting for their lives because the people in charge of public safety decided a violent repeat offender deserved another chance.

The Attack: Pure, Unprovoked Rage

On March 13, 2026, in the 2000 block of South Lamar, two passengers were quietly talking about scripture. Martinez, sitting across from them, became enraged.

“I’m tired of hearing your voice,” he said.

Then he attacked.

The first victim was stabbed repeatedly in the back while turned away. The second man, a complete stranger who jumped in to help, was stabbed in the leg while pinning Martinez down until police arrived. Surveillance video captured the entire brutal sequence.

Martinez refused to speak to officers. He was charged with two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, both second-degree felonies.

But this wasn’t his first time.

Decades of Leniency: The System’s Failure on Full Display

Martinez has a documented history of violence that includes multiple aggravated robbery charges, strangling a family member, and beating an HEB security guard in the forehead with her own flashlight

Time after time, Travis County prosecutors under DA José Garza either dismissed charges, pled them down to misdemeanors, or failed to take the cases to trial. The result? A dangerous man stayed on the streets, escalating until he stabbed two people in broad daylight over a Bible conversation.

This is the deadly logic of “criminal justice reform” in action. Progressive DAs like Garza treat violent felons as victims of the system rather than threats to the public. Judges sign off on the plea deals. The public pays the price with their lives.

The Broader Travis County Pattern

Austin has become a national example of what happens when leftist “reform” policies replace accountability. Under Garza, felony charges are routinely reduced, trials are avoided, and repeat offenders are cycled back onto the streets with little or no punishment. The result is predictable: more crime, more victims, and more families destroyed.

The two people stabbed on that bus did nothing wrong. They were simply having a conversation about their faith. Their attacker was only on that bus because the justice system had failed to do its job for years.

This is what Catch and Release looks like when the system stops protecting the innocent and starts protecting the guilty.

Stay updated on catch and release judges 2026, Rogerio Martinez Austin bus stabbing, Travis County DA José Garza leniency, Austin bus Bible stabbing, judicial failures Texas, and leftist violence enablers for developments.

When talking about the Bible gets you stabbed — and the stabber was already known to the system — the people of Austin deserve real answers and real accountability.

Sources: Austin American-Statesman, CBS Austin, KXAN, KVUE, Travis County court records, and March 2026 reporting.