On April 26, 2023, 74-year-old Martiriano Garcia was found guilty by a Wilson County jury of Aggravated Sexual Assault of a Child Under the Age of 14. The defendant elected for the jury to assess his punishment. The jury returned a sentence of 50 years in prison. Garcia must serve at least half of that sentence before he is eligible for parole. This defendant was trusted with the care of this young child and he violated that trust. Our victim’s courage to come forward and testify about what the defendant did means he will never have the opportunity to hurt another child. We are so grateful for the jury’s decision to see that our child victim received justice and protect any future victims. The work of the Children’s Alliance of South Texas, Wilson County Sheriff’s Office, and Children’s Hospital of San Antonio was pivotal to the outcome of this case. I also appreciate the hard work of my prosecutors, Marc Ledet and Lorena Whitney, as well as our Victim Advocate, Katie Quinney, and Investigator Todd McCrohan ensuring the case was presented effectively in court and protecting our child victim. Our office will continue to fight for our most vulnerable and to put molesters behind bars.
Wilson County Jury Gives Woman 30 Years in Prison
Jodi Morrison was found guilty of Aggravated Assault with a Deadly Weapon causing serious bodily injury to a household member in Wilson County. On September 29, 2021, Morrison and her then three year old daughter were living with a couple who had taken them in, when Morrison shot the wife in the back of the head while she slept on her living room sofa. The victim survived, but was was left with lifelong disabilities. Morrison will have to serve a minimum of half her sentence before she is eligible for parole. We are grateful for the jurors’ attentiveness during trial, and the professionalism of Sgt. Gary Laughlin, Jr., Inv. Jeff Dugi, and Inv. Jack Derby of the Wilson County Sheriff’s Office. Thank you to prosecutors Lorena Whitney and Marc Ledet for their hard work in fighting for justice for our victim and her family, and protecting society from further violence from this defendant.
Drug Dealer Sentenced to 18 Years in Prison in Karnes County
On January 26, 2023, Rogelio Espinoza plead guilty to court to a cap of 18 years in prison for the offense Manufacture/ Delivery Controlled Substance of 4 grams but less than 200 grams of methamphetamine. A cap 18 offer means the range of punishment is anything from probation up to 18 years in prison. The court reset the case to March 27, 2023, for sentencing and ordered a presentence investigation report prepared by the probation department.
Back on March 19, 2021, the defendant was caught and arrested while in the middle of carrying out a drug deal. When deputies arrested him, Espinoza had baggies weighing a total of 6.2 grams of methamphetamine, a large amount of cash, as well as a scale in his vehicle.
At the sentencing hearing, our office argued that the defendant had other pending drug charges and is a confirmed gang member. Honorable District Judge Russell Wilson sentenced Espinoza to 18 years in prison. We are grateful for the service of the Karnes County Sheriff’s Office, Karnes City Police Department, and Kenedy Police Department for working up cases against this defendant, as well as the efforts of Valerie Campos Chief of Adult Probation for Karnes County, as well as ADA Audrey Vasquez for making sure that a drug dealer is off the streets in Karnes County.
Pearsall Man Gets 30 Years for Injury to a Child
Emilio Villlareal’s family can finally close this chapter of their loss. On September 11, 2015, Emilio’s mom came home from work and found her 23 month old son unresponsive. He was limp, breathing heavy, and his eyes rolled back in his head. Her boyfriend, Joe Gallardo, was left in charge of Emilio and Gallardo’s one year old son. Gallardo claimed he had no idea what happened to the child. Emilio’s mom called 911. EMS did all they could, and airlifted Emilio to University Hospital. After 3 days on life support, Emilio was pronounced dead. Doctors said Emilio suffered severe and massive head trauma similar to that of a car crash. The investigation revealed that the only person responsible for this was the sole person watching him, Joe Gallardo. Gallardo never cooperated with Child Protective Services or Pearsall Police Department, and claimed Emilio fell from a small ride-on Barbie Jeep.
This case was finally presented to a grand jury after I took office in 2017, and was set for trial when Covid hit. Once he was set for trial again, the defendant fired his attorneys which caused further delay. On January 10th, the second day of jury selection, the defendant opted to plead guilty to the injury to a child charge and let the judge determine his sentence of up to 30 years in prison.
Gallardo’s attorney pleaded with the Honorable Judge Wilson for probation. But after review of the thorough presence investigation prepared by Chief of Adult Probation Renee Merten, the judge sentenced Gallardo to the maximum 30 years.
The hearts of so many dedicated public servants went into Emilio’s case. The Frio County EMS, the nurses and doctors at University Hospital, the CPS workers all remembered Emilio. One CPS worker cared so deeply for Emilio that she attended Gallardo’s sentencing hearing. Then Pearsall PD Chief Peter Salinas and Sgt. Mike Guerrero were instrumental in the investigation of the case. We are grateful for everyone’s hard work, and most thankful that the family is able to find some long overdue justice for Emilio.
Karnes County-Defendant Receives 60 Year Prison Sentence for Aggravated Assault with a Deadly Weapon.
On December 7, 2021, the Defendant was arrested for violently assaulting his common-law wife and striking her multiple times with a baseball bat. The victim fled to a neighbor’s house and called the police. On February 28, 2023, after hearing the courageous testimony of the victim, as well as the testimony of law enforcement and medical professionals, a Karnes County jury found Ruben Cano guilty of two counts of Aggravated Assault with a Deadly Weapon. The defendant elected to have Judge Russell Wilson determine his punishment. The case was reset for the Judge to obtain a pre-sentence investigation report prepared by the probation department.
At the sentencing hearing March 9, 2023, our office presented evidence that the defendant had previously been to prison twice, both times for Burglary of a Habitation. This enhanced the defendant’s punishment range from 2-20 years in prison to 25-99 years or life in prison. In addition, the State presented evidence that while on bond the defendant was charged with two other felonies and an additional charge while in custody at the GEO facility. After a contested punishment hearing, Honorable District Judge Russell Wilson sentenced the defendant to 60 years in prison. The defendant will have to serve at least half of his sentence before becoming eligible for parole.
We are grateful for the service of the Karnes County Jury, as well as the efforts of Karnes City Police Chief Eddie Salas and Sgt. Mike Ochoa, Probation Chief Valerie Campos, and Karnes County 1st Chair prosecutor Audrey Vasquez, Atascosa County 1st Chair Ryan Wright and our Chief Investigator Roland Trevino for fighting for justice for our victim and an effective presentation of the case. This defendant will no longer be a menace in our community thanks to everyone’s hard work.
Cotulla Man Given 20 Years for Aggravated Sexual Assault of a Child
On March 9th a Frio County jury convicted and sentenced Henry Gilbert Ayala, Jr. aka Paco Ayala to 20 years in prison for the offense of Aggravated Sexual Assault of a Child. The trial was moved from La Salle to Frio County after a La Salle jury was unable to be selected due to incredibly low juror turnout. Paco Ayala was found guilty of sexually assaulting a 13 year old child who lived in his home at the time of the offense. Ayala will have to serve a minimum of half his sentence before he is eligible for parole.
We are extremely proud of our victim, who courageously testified against the defendant, and because of her courage, no other child will suffer abuse from this defendant while he is incarcerated.
Thank you to Texas Ranger Lieutenant Randy Garcia, La Salle County Sheriff’s Office Lieutenant Homar Olivarez and Investigator Esmeralda Gonzalez, as well as Children’s Alliance of South Texas for all their continued hard work, and seeing the case through to the conviction of this defendant. Of course, we are grateful to our prosecutor First Assistant Leslie Carranza for fighting for justice for our victim.
Atascosa County- Defendant Receives 46 Years for 6th Felony DWI
On January 18, 2023, 49 year old, Juan Martinez was found guilty of felony DWI (with two or more prior convictions) and Evading Arrest with a Vehicle by an Atascosa County jury.
Martinez was stopped by Atascosa County Deputy Guy Bruce after he noticed Martinez driving all over the road on I37. Martinez admitted to drinking too much. Trooper Tyler Justice conducted the DWI investigation and determined Martinez was intoxicated.
Martinez chose to have the judge determine his sentence after an Atascosa jury found him guilty. Martinez was facing 25 years to life in prison based on his criminal record. The judge heard evidence that Martinez had two prior prison sentences, one for DWI and another for Intoxication Manslaughter (killing someone while intoxicated). His criminal history included 3 more DWI convictions as well as a prior Evading Arrest conviction. In addition, he cut his ankle monitor off while awaiting trial, and admitted to drinking “hooch” while in the jail. The Honorable Judge Dillingham sentenced Martinez to 46 years in prison on Monday.
We are grateful for the service of our Atascosa jurors, our ACSO and DPS for getting Martinez off the roads and preventing Martinez from putting any more lives at risk. The jury found Martinez used a deadly weapon during the crime, so he will have to serve at least half his sentence before being eligible for parole.
Thank you to Adult Probation Officer Brittnay Ibarra for preparing a thorough pre-sentence investigation report for the court, our former ADA Bradlee Thornton and Atascosa 1st chair ADA Ryan Wright for presenting the case, as well as Erika Price, for her presentation of the punishment evidence to the court.
STALKER GETS 40 YEARS IN ATASCOSA COUNTY
On October 19, 2022 an Atascosa Jury convicted Justin Ray Bosquez of the third degree felony offense of stalking. The defendant elected for Judge Lynn Ellison to assess punishment instead of the jury and the case was reset for the Judge to obtain a pre-sentence investigation report prepared by the probation department.
At the sentencing hearing on November 22, 2022, our office presented evidence that the defendant had previously been to prison twice, once for Assault of a Public Servant, and a second time for Resisting Arrest with a Deadly Weapon. This enhanced the defendant’s punishment range from 2-10 years in prison to 25-99 years or life in prison. In addition, evidence was also presented showing the defendant’s history of family violence, weapons, and violations of a protective order. After a contested punishment hearing, Honorable District Judge Lynn Ellison sentenced the defendant to 40 years in prison. We are grateful for the service of the Atascosa County jury, as well as the efforts of Jourdanton Police Department, adult probation, and Asst. DA Bradlee Thornton for his effective presentation of the case.
CHILD MOLESTER GETS 30 YEARS IN WILSON COUNTY
After pleading guilty on all counts and a subsequent sentencing hearing involving multiple witnesses, last week the Hon. Lynn Ellison sentenced Justin Earl Roan to 30 years for counts 1 through 3 of aggravated sexual assault of a child. Additionally, Roan was sentenced to 15 years each on 4 counts of indecency with a child. Judge Ellison ran the punishment on all seven counts concurrent over the State’s request to stack each count. Through tough circumstances, the victim and the victim’s family had the courage to make sure that Mr. Roan would never have the opportunity to hurt another child. We applaud their bravery, perseverance, and determination. I am grateful for the work of prosecutors Marc Ledet and Lorena Whitney for fighting for justice for our victim. We would also like to thank the Wilson County Sheriff’s Office including Investigator Gary Laughlin, Jr. for all their hard work in bringing this defendant to justice.
ATASCOSA JURY GIVES MAN 44 YEARS FOR KILLING HIS SON
On June 1st, an Atascosa County jury convicted Abel C. Esquivel for the May 31, 2019 murder of his son, Abel S. Esquivel. On that day the two men got into an argument, and the defendant went inside and retrieved a pistol. The defendant fired the fatal shot as the victim was walking away, striking him in the back of the head. The defendant’s inconsistent defense alleged that the shooting was an accident, but if it wasn’t an accident, then it was self-defense or defense of property. Surveillance video recovered from the defendant’s home clearly showed the defendant follow his son after an argument and shoot him in the back of the head.
During the punishment phase of the trial, the defense changed yet again to argue that the murder was committed with sudden passion, which would bring his maximum sentence down to 20 years. The jury also heard evidence that although the defendant was a veteran of the Air Force, he had repeatedly abused two of his past wives and children, including incidents where he threatened them with the same gun he used to kill his son. The jury rejected his defense yet again and sentenced him to 44 years in prison.
Thank you to the jury for their thoughtful consideration of the evidence. The case was investigated by the Atascosa County Sheriff’s Office who did an excellent job recovering the evidence necessary to bring the defendant to justice. I am extremely proud of the work of Atascosa Chief Asst. DA Bradlee Thornton, Asst. DA Ryan Wright, and Chief Investigator Roland Trevino for ensuring the defendant was brought to justice.
