Failing to show up for his initial court hearing, a warrant was issued once again for the arrest of Francisco J. Gonzalez. But just minutes later, the judge recalled it.

Gonzalez, 24, of Warsaw, was scheduled to appear at 1 p.m. today in Kosciusko County Superior Court III on two charges involving drunk driving that resulted in the brutal killing of a horse on Sept. 29 in Warsaw.

Although Gonzalez appeared to have signed in on the Superior Court III docket, when Judge Joe Sutton took role call, Gonzalez was no where to be found. His attorney of record, Scott Lennox, was also not present.

Judge Joe Sutton issued the warrant and set Gonzalez’s bond to be set at $100,000 surety only.

When court adjourned and the judge left the courtroom at 2:55 p.m., Gonzalez arrived, saying he was waiting in the wrong courtroom.

Gonzalez is accused of crashing his vehicle into a horse pulling a wagon carrying five Amish teens. The incident happened on Shelden Street near Walmart. The impact killed the horse and tossed all five youths from the wagon. None of the boys were hurt.

According to witnesses at the scene and Floyd Miller, the father of 17-year-old Andrew Miller who was driving the horse-drawn vehicle, Gonzalez drove around the wagon, made a U-turn in the Walmart parking lot and appeared to have accelerated straight into the animal.

Gonzalez then left the scene of the accident and was found by police approximately three miles from the scene. He vehicle was badly damaged and had died, but he was reportedly still trying to start it. He was taken into custody covered in horse blood and transported to a Fort Wayne Hospital by ambulance.

A blood draw was obtained at the hospital where Gonzalez’s blood alcohol content was .17 percent. The suspect was unintentionally released from the hospital that same night. He was arrested on a warrant two days later by Warsaw Police.

During his arrest, Gonzalez refused to make a statement saying he wished to speak with an attorney. Gonzalez obtained Scott Lennox as his attorney.

Kosciusko County Prosecutor Dan Hampton has charged Gonzalez with failing to stop after an accident causing serious bodily injury, a Class B felony; and causing serious bodily injury when operating a motor vehicle with a BAC of .08 percent or more, a Class D felony.

Without his attorney present, and because Gonzalez missed the judge’s reading of rights to all defendants at the start of the hearings, Judge Sutton opted to reschedule Gonzalez’s initial hearing to 1 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 1.