A prominent El Paso County judge is making the rounds on the internet after a video she created “years ago” found new life.

Judge Bonnie Rangel said she created the four-minute video, which starts with a car accident and cycles through dramatized courtroom scenes, to pitch an idea for a television show. Rangel said she then posted the video on IMDb in the hope it would reach television production companies or talent agents, but the video failed to gain traction.

“I really don’t remember when it was created. It was years ago," Rangel told the El Paso Times. "It basically was just a retirement idea. A possible option for when I retired. I am not retiring yet, but it was just a retirement idea. I am not going to be there forever.”

Luis Ruiz, who said he produced the video, said it was created in 2015.

“I agree with Judge Rangel that she is coming from a good place with the video, her career and the effort to get a TV show,” Ruiz said. “I didn’t agree with everything she wanted in the video. I advocated going in a different direction, but she felt strongly about it and wanted to get a show, so I went along with what she wanted. She is a good person and judge. No doubt, she always has the best interest for the community first and foremost.”

Rangel, who presides over the 171st District Court, said that friends and colleagues have always told her she could be the next Judge Judy Sheindlin, a popular tough-talking New York judge who is the star of the television show “Judge Judy.”

“Everyone always says, ‘You could be Judge Judy. You could be Judge Judy,’ ” Rangel said. “So, I thought about it and this was just a retirement idea. This is not something I wanted to do immediately. I am still passionate about serving my community as a judge and plan to continue that.”

The video opens with a voice-over from Rangel as she drives down a desert road.

"I bring order to people’s lives,” Rangel says in the video. “Many come to me for answers. The people give me so much power. Why have I allowed my husband to live 1,000 miles away from me? This is crazy. I must begin to control my life."

Then she crashes, a tire pops off her car and the camera pans to a bloodied Rangel in a tank top on the asphalt road.

As she stands in front of a mirror, Rangel talks about how the near-death experience after her single-vehicle accident in 2009 near Sweetwater, Texas, changed her life.

Rangel was airlifted from the scene of the crash, but has fully recovered. In the video, she says she realized she could no longer "simply put people in jail without trying to teach life lessons first.”

The video then turns to a Judge Judy-type setting. A man’s voice says “Now, on Judge Bonnie’s family court, you be the judge. Who do you side with? The 13-year-old who wants her parents to pay for her birth control pills, or her parents, who say she’s too young to be having sex?”

In a scene featuring Rangel and several actors, the judge is shown counseling the parents.

“Mom and Dad, let’s do this. Let’s show her video of a birth with a vagina that’s stretching to the size of a watermelon," Rangel said in the scene. "We can show her pictures of penises oozing with puss due to a sexually transmitted disease. These are the possible consequences of having sex, sweetheart.”

In the video, Rangel said “collecting" three ex-husbands, raising her only daughter, and trying to regain control of her life made her want to help struggling families.

“You knew he was a drug dealer when you married him, right?” she says to a woman in the video. “The problem is, Mrs. Payan, you married a pig and now you want him to be a regal horse.”

The woman, who appears to be an actress, argues that she does not want her husband to see their child, but Rangel responds, “Don’t test me. I will put you in jail.” She then lectures the husband, saying she will give him one last chance to be involved in his child’s life.

Later in the video, Rangel is shown chastising another man for being 40 years old and being on probation for 10 years but still living at home with his “mamacita,” or mother.

When the man's mother responds that she needs him at home to cut her grass, Rangel tells her: “Trust me. You make him enchiladas. You make him taquitos every Saturday; he’ll be there to cut your grass. Mom, I think you’re the problem.”

Rangel talks about being proud to be a strong Mexican-American woman, who is full of passion and “picosita,” or spicy. As she walks down an El Paso street, Rangel talks about growing up sleeping in the kitchen of a two-room apartment before mentioning that she went on to receive her education at Stanford and Notre Dame.

The video then cuts back to a man who says, “Your honor, I gotta tell you, they're doing it everywhere. They’re doing it on the tables, on the dance floor, in the stairwells, even in the bathroom.”

Rangel responds, “On the dance floor? Que cochinos.”

In another mock courtroom moment, Rangel is seen asking a county commissioner if he saw a smiley face on a man’s penis. She then asks him, “Did you know that Happy Face Chuck kills his lovers? Commissioner, you’re lucky to be alive.”

In the video, Rangel says: “I have made drug lords cry and remove their tattoos. I’ve defended myself against allegations of being a regular customer at a local strip club. I have even signed a death warrant on a serial killer.

"All those life experiences make me who I am today. And, more than just a show, I want to create a movement, teaching people life lessons and a better way with a little bit of Mexican spice and wisdom. That’s my passion now.”

The video closes with a screen that is titled, "Judge Bonnie’s Family Court."

Rangel was first elected as a judge in 1998. Her current term ends in December 2018. She is seeking reelection.

As the video gained steam on the internet, Rangel said she hopes community members will understand that her desire to serve as a judge has never waned. She said she looks forward to helping defendants rebuild their lives and once again contribute to the community.

“I am running for reelection again next year," Rangel said. "I love what I do. I do everything I can to help our community and I am proud and honored to serve our community. This was just a retirement plan. Rome wasn’t built in a day, so it was just a retirement plan for the future. I am nowhere near retiring and will continue to serve our community.”

She added, “I hope people will take from the video that my main goal as a judge is to help people. Yes, I was involved in a serious wreck and that put life into perspective for me. My goal became clear after that wreck.

"That goal was to help as many people as possible. I thought the possibility of having a show like that would help me reach out and help even more people. I just want to continue to help as many people as I can.”

Aaron Martinez may be reached at 546-6249; aamartinez@elpasotimes.com; @AMartinez31 on Twitter.