Warrant issued for soldier deployed in Iraq

Posted at: 09/18/2009 10:47 PM
By: Antoinette Antonio, Eyewitness News 4; Charlie Pabst, KOB.com

The Bernalillo County DA's office says it had no choice to issue a warrant if it wants justice to be served.

26-year-old Jordan Pratz has been in the National Guard for two years. His father says being in the military is something he wanted to do since high school—especially after 9/11.

So how did the soldier end up with a bench warrant while fighting in Operation Iraqi Freedom?

According to court records, Pratz was arrested for his second DWI in March.

A few weeks later, he got his marching orders to serve overseas.

While deployed, Pratz missed a trial date, set for September 14.

On Thursday, a judge issued the bench warrant at the request of the DA's office so that the statute of limitations wouldn't run out.

Bernalillo County District Attorney Kari Brandenburg said, "That was the purpose for issuing a warrant, not that they're gonna go out and get him and bring him back, but it stops the running of the rule. And so then we'll pick up where we left off when he returns to the state."

Pratz's father said in a telephone interview Friday that his son thought the issue would be dealt with when he returned.

Pratz's attorney now wants the judge to reconsider the warrant—citing a 2004 state Supreme Court order adopting a policy in which courts should be "…mindful of the impact the ongoing war can have on a litigant's access to the courts."

The DA says Jordan Pratz will get due process.

Brandenburg said, "If somebody breaks the law, be it a lawyer, a doctor, a national guardsman, a police officer, a judge, if they are charged with DWI, then they need to be held accountable for that."

We were unable to get into contact with a National Guard official to discuss the issue.

When Pratz returns home, he has the option of turning himself in to the judge, or he could be arrested.

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