Two felons avoid jail time with plea deals

Judge Cashon hears pleas in District Court Wednesday

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By AMANDA KIMBLE
TheFlashToday.com

STEPHENVILLE (September 21, 2016) – The state of Texas gives admitted felons a chance to avoid prison time. And, District Judge Jason Cashon warned two defendants who plead guilty to drug crimes to use their chances wisely during proceedings in the 266th Judicial District Court Wednesday.

Josue Neon Alcala-Flores, 27, plead guilty to two drug charges – possession of less than one gram of morphine and possession of 1-4 grams of methamphetamine – and was given a probated sentence in each case.

Assistant District Attorney (ADA) Jett Smith recommended a 10-year probated prison term for the charge for meth possession, and the state offered two years of confinement probated for five years for the possession of morphine.

The meth charge, a third-degree felony, carries a potential punishment of two to 10 years of confinement. The morphine offense, a state jail felony, is punishable by up to two years.

ADA Smith said the agreements also say Alcala-Flores will pay a $1,500 fine, court costs, lab fees and perform 200 hours of community service for each case.   

“I will accept the plea bargain, which is good for you,” Cashon said.

But, the judge said, lawmakers were to thank for the leniency. Alcala-Flores has criminal history that includes an extensive list of misdemeanor charges and a felony arrest from another state that was not prosecuted.

Cashon said Texas Legislature amended the Code of Criminal Procedure several years ago, requiring probation instead of prison time for drug offenders without a previous felony conviction.

“I have no discretion and that is what saves you,” Cashon said. “If it was up to me, given your criminal history, you would be going to the penitentiary.”

As a part of the plea agreement, Cashon barred further prosecution of a pair of misdemeanor offenses – another drug possession and unlawful carrying of a weapon – in the Erath County Court at Law. The bargaining tool is available to prosecutors per the Texas Penal Code, providing the defendant admits to the offenses. 

“You continue to break the law and you continue to do things you are not supposed to do, you run a serious and substantial risk of going to the penitentiary,” Cashon added.

Alcala-Flores was represented by defense attorney Brady Pendleton.

Meanwhile, the state gave Danny Dear Harris, 23, a chance to avoid prison time and a felony record for possession of between four ounces and five pounds of marijuana.

Harris could have been given the maximum two years in a state jail, but bargaining by Pendleton led the state to offer a deferred sentence.

ADA Smith recommended five years deferred adjudication probation, along with the payment of a $1,500 fine, court costs and lab fees and completion of 400 hours of community service.

“The upside is that with the successful completion (of your deferred adjudication probation) you can petition to the court to have the conviction removed from your record,” Cashon said, adding that a violation could lead to a prison sentence. “This is your chance not to have a felony conviction and not have to go to a penitentiary.”

But, the judge warned Harris his criminal history had better not repeat itself.

“I am not going to embarrass you and read it all out loud in an open court, but I know what you’ve been doing,” Cashon said. “Possess marijuana in the future and you will spend up to two years in a state jail. Do you understand me?”

Meanwhile, two other defendants who plead guilty Wednesday, Rafael Perez Ortiz and Damien Lee Estrada, will spend some time behind bars.

Ortiz, 40, faced an enhanced charge for possession of less than one gram of methamphetamine, a second degree felony.

At the time of his arrest on the drug offense, Estrada was also charged with unlawfully carrying a weapon.

“The state recommends six years of confinement in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice with $1,500 fine plus court costs, appointed attorney fees, lab fees and waiver of the right to appeal,” ADA Smith said.

Ortiz, who was represented by court-appointed defense attorney Mandy McGee, will be given credit for the time served in Erath County Jail since arrest February 13.

Estrada, 24, admitted to possession of less than one gram of methamphetamine, a state-jail felony.

His criminal history includes prison time and parole violations, but Estrada’s plea agreement and time served since December 29, 2015, means he won’t spend much time in a state prison.

The agreement reached between defense attorney David Stokes and the state includes 14 months of confinement in a state jail and credit for almost nine months served in Erath County.

Meanwhile, Lyndon Blaine Robertson, 53, plead guilty to evading arrest or detention with a motor vehicle, a third-degree felony and worked an agreement with the state through attorney Scott Osman.

Robertson was placed on deferred adjudication probation for five years and ordered to pay a $1,000 fine and court costs. He was also ordered to complete 200 hours of community service and an anger management/alcohol abuse counseling treatment regimen.

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