By AMANDA KIMBLE
TheFlashToday.com
STEPHENVILLE (February 7, 2017) – A man who the state showed had a list of felony convictions was sent to prison for 85 years on Tuesday.
The sentencing recommendation followed a 10-minute return of a guilty verdict in the 266th Judicial District Court.
District Attorney Alan Nash revealed information about Nolberto Ortega, 58, that had not been previously shared.
In addition to the unlawful possession of a firearm charge on which he was convicted about an hour earlier, the jury of nine women and three men learned Ortega had been convicted of multiple felonies in other Texas counties in the past.
Nash said Ortega was convicted of aggravated assault in November 1978, felony custody escape in 1985, involuntary manslaughter in 1987 and also had a previous conviction for unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon and other offenses.
Testimony from Sgt. Sha King with Stephenville Police Department, walked the jury through a number of court documents related to the previous convictions.
The multiple enhancements – the prior convictions – made what would have otherwise been a third-degree felony and punishable by 2 to 10 years in prison carry a potential sentence of 25 years to life.
Ortega brandished a handgun in close proximity of Stephenville High School and Gilbert Intermediate in March of last year. The incident led school officials to lockdown campuses and police officers to arm themselves with AR-15 assault rifles before the situation was diffused.
The crime was phoned in to police dispatch by a mother who was homeschooling her children in a neighboring home when she heard a loud “pop” and saw the defendant pointing the handgun at another man.
Ortega’s defense hinged on the idea that he didn’t know the firearm, from which the entire firing mechanism had been removed, was off limits since it could not be used to fire a projectile at that time.
Ortega was represented by attorney Angie Hatley who also said her client was under duress, feeling his life was in danger.
The defendant claimed a man who was inside the Overhill Drive home he shared with his wife, an employee of the Dallas County district attorney, and three-year-old daughter had been sent by the Texas Syndicate gang.
Ortega claimed his life was being threatened for working as a police informant, which led him to obtain the inoperable weapon from a friend. His attorney said the defendant could have asked for a working firearm, but knew he would have been breaking the law.
But, the state asserted that the gang member and Ortega had been friends for some time and the defendant was comfortable enough in his presence to invite him into his home and automobile with his child.
When Ortega told the court he planned to testify during the sentencing hearing, he was told by District Judge Jason Cashon that he was not required to do so.
“I have already been found guilty, what more harm can I do?” Ortega asked.
According to the jury’s decision, Ortega will likely do no harm beyond the walls of a Texas prison.
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