An attorney who is the star prosecution witness in the federal bribery trial against Thirteenth Court of Appeals Justice Rudy Delgado nearly didn't make it to the stand on time to testify on Wednesday.

It was a close call because Edinburg attorney Noe Perez Jr. was detained up until 15 minutes before his scheduled testimony after the U.S. Marshals Service arrested him Tuesday for allegedly violating the terms of his $25,000 unsecured bond in his separate criminal case related to the judicial bribery scheme.

Perez has pleaded guilty to a charge of conspiracy to commit bribery concerning programs receiving federal funds. He's been free on bond pending his sentencing hearing Aug. 15.

That charge stemmed from a May 2018 information claiming that between January 2008 and November 2016, Perez allegedly once gave Delgado a $15,000 truck and allegedly bribed the judge 20 other times with payments between $250 to $350. Those alleged bribes then allegedly led the judge to take actions like dismissing charges, dismissing cases, releasing defendants from prison, reinstating community supervision and issuing bonds.

But now Perez faces new legal troubles that threatened a scheduling hiccup in the Delgado case. His arrest for violating bond came after McAllen police arrested Perez and booked him into jail June 13 on a charge of assault, causing bodily injury to a family member, according to McAllen County Jail records. He was released the same day on a $5,000 personal recognizance bond.

“On June 12 there was an incident and allegations of domestic violence, but it was against both him and his wife, and they both got arrested,” Perez's attorney, Jesus Contreras of Edinburg, said. “Indeed, there was no type of evidence against Mr. Perez regarding any assault other than the fact he was there.”

Wednesday Delgado's trial began with opening arguments at 9 a.m. and then prosecutors planned to call Perez as the first witness. That plan was threatened because Perez had to appear at 8:30 a.m. Wednesday before U.S. Magistrate Judge J. Scott Hacker because of his arrest, according to federal court records.

Contreras said he was in the courtroom when attorneys in the Delgado case gave opening arguments and then took a break. Perez was supposed to take the stand around 10:45 a.m., when the trial resumed.

Yet around 10:30 a.m., Perez was in another hearing over his bond issue. In the end, the court decided to reinstate his conditions of release, which freed him to testify in Delgado's trial about 15 minutes later, said Contreras.

The government has alleged that Delgado, formerly the judge of Hidalgo County's 93rd District Court, took bribes from Perez in exchange for issuing favorable rulings for the attorney's clients. Delgado has pleaded not guilty to conspiracy to commit bribery concerning programs receiving federal funds, obstruction of justice, three counts of federal program bribery, and three counts of travel act violations.

The Progress Times, which has been covering Delgado's trial from McAllen, reported that in the midst of the scheduling mishap, Assistant U.S. Attorney Peter Nothstein told the court, “There's the potential for some unforeseen issues first thing in the morning.”

U.S. District Judge Alfred H. Bennett of Houston said he was confident prosecutors would work around the complications, the Progress Times reported.

“That's why you guys get paid the big bucks as trial lawyers,” Bennett joked. “To think on your feet.”