Following Shelley Luther’s release, 2 Texas women arrested for similar crimes won’t be punished

AUSTIN — Two Laredo women arrested for providing beauty services in violation of stay-at-home order meant to slow the spread of COVID-19 will not be prosecuted after Gov. Greg Abbott said Texans cannot be jailed for the offense.

Ana Isabel Castro-Garcia and Brenda Stephanie Mata were arrested in two separate sting operations on April 15 for allegedly offering hair and cosmetic services in their homes. The two women, who were released on bond, faced fines and up to 180 days in jail until Thursday, when Abbott changed his executive order “to eliminate confinement in jail as an available penalty” for violating stay-at-home orders put in place during the coronavirus pandemic.

As a result, Castro-Garcia and Mata will not be fined or face jail time, local prosecutors said.

“Abbott’s executive order issued [Thursday] removed jail time as a punishment for these violations and only allows the imposition of a fine. The district attorney’s office will not be prosecuting these two cases,” a spokesperson for Webb County District Attorney Isidro Alaniz said in a statement.

Abbott axed confinement for stay-at-home scofflaws after Shelley Luther, a Dallas salon owner, was fined and jailed for refusing to comply with a court order to close her business. Luther quickly became a rallying point for conservative politicians in Texas and across the country.

Castro-Garcia and Mata — who were arrested weeks before Luther — did not receive similar attention at the time from Texas officials. But Abbott, a Republican, said he changed his executive order with these two women in mind.

“At the time I issued my executive order I was aware of the arrest of Ana Isabel Castro-Garcia and Brenda Stephanie Mata and their potential jailing,” Abbott told The Dallas Morning News in a statement. “That is why I made this order retroactive, ensuring these two women would not be subject to confinement.”

Abbott issued an executive order effective April 2 requiring the closure of all non-essential businesses to slow the spread of the coronavirus. Salons and barbershops were allowed to open back up on Friday, but Luther reopened her salon early on April 24. She was sentenced to seven days in the Dallas County jail and fined $7,000.