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The man responsible for the crash that severely injured Austin teen Wyatt Hamlin and who was arrested in mid-December in Tennessee was back in Mower County District Court Wednesday morning.

Jeffer Lorenzo, 24, was in court for a hearing on the previous case regarding Hamlin as well as a first appearance for a new charge of felony failure to appear. He is currently in custody at the Mower County Jail.

A bail or bond with no conditions has been set at $10,000 for the failure to appear and his next appearance on that charge is an initial appearance scheduled for March 6.

However, it makes little difference because in the case where he was convicted, Judge Kevin Siefken ordered he be held without bail or bond. He will be sentenced in March, also on the sixth.

A warrant for Lorenzo’s arrest was issued in June of 2024 after he failed to show for his original sentencing date. He had previously been convicted of felony criminal vehicular operation causing great bodily harm while under the influence of alcohol, which he agreed to as part of a plea deal in April of 2024.

Months went by until Lorenzo was arrested on Dec. 15 by the Cleveland Police Department in Cleveland, Tennessee where according to the jail roster he faced domestic assault and prohibited weapons charges.

According to the court complaint on the failure to appear charge, at the June 13 sentencing, Lorenzo’s defense counsel indicated that he had no recent contact at the time and that calls to Lorenzo’s cellphone went  straight to voicemail. 

A detective with the Austin Police Department made contact with Lorenzo’s probation agent who advised the detective that multiple attempts to contact Lorenzo had been unsuccessful. Likewise, a person helping Lorenzo with his aftercare indicated that after stopping by his place discovered the residence packed up and that Lorenzo was no longer living there.