Freedom Today, Prison Tomorrow? Judge West’s Powerful Warning

Ajouté : 2026-05-30

[00:00:00]Good morning.

[00:00:04]Let's see. This is Let's see. I think Mr. Smith on Lamar Henry.

[00:00:13]Good morning.

[00:00:14]>> Good morning.

[00:00:15]>> And so, Ms. Henry was previously in court in cause number 24 DCCR 1668 entered a plea of guilty to evading arrest or detention with the use of a vehicle. I received that pre-sentence report. Has everyone had an opportunity to review that report?

[00:00:30]>> Yes, your honor.

[00:00:33]>> Are there any additions or corrections?

[00:00:36]>> No, your honor.

[00:00:37]Nothing to state.

[00:00:44]>> Ms. Henry, I've got a some real concerns about your criminal history.

[00:00:51]>> Okay.

[00:00:52]>> You've been very busy in Louisiana, haven't you?

[00:00:55]>> Yeah.

[00:00:56]>> Yeah.

[00:00:57]>> That's my past.

[00:00:58]>> That's your past. Well, your past isn't that long ago on some of these. Some of them are old.

[00:01:04]Some of them are not.

[00:01:06]And so, I want you to understand that if I go along with this agreement and put you on this probation, that you will be on zero tolerance. That means you cannot miss an appointment. You cannot test positive. You cannot do anything that's a violation of your probation or you will be in here on a motion to revoke your probation. Do you understand?

[00:01:25]>> Yes, your honor.

[00:01:26]>> All right. Um okay, then I'm going to find that you entered your plea of guilty previously, freely, and voluntarily.

[00:01:32]>> Yes, your honor.

[00:01:32]>> Find uh sufficient evidence to find you guilty and at this time follow the agreement that you made. Find you guilty of evading arrest or detention with the use of a vehicle. Sentence you in accordance with your agreement to a term of 10 years in prison, but I'm going to probate that. You'll be on probation for 10 years. You're ordered to pay the $500 fine and to follow all of the rules and conditions of probation.

[00:01:54]If you do that, then for all practical purposes, your case here in court is over. You'll be able to serve that 10-year sentence while you're on probation.

[00:02:01]The other side of that though is that you've already agreed to a 10-year sentence. So, any violation of your probation could end up with that 10-year sentence that you've agreed to. Do you understand?

[00:02:11]All right, I'm handing you the trial court certification that shows this was an agreement that I followed and so you've waived your right to appeal. You just need to have a seat here in the courtroom. Oh, wait, I have to hand you one more thing. Also, I'm handing you a written admonishment regarding your ineligibility to possess a firearm or ammunition.

[00:02:28]Because of the um judgment entered against you, you're ineligible under Texas law to possess a firearm or ammunition. Possession of a firearm or ammunition could lead to charges against you. Firearm is a legal term. Read that written admonishment I provided you to see what devices qualify as a firearm.

[00:02:45]If you have questions about the laws that make you ineligible to possess a firearm or how long that lasts, you can talk with Mr. Parker.

[00:02:52]>> Okay.

[00:02:53]>> Okay? So, have a seat here in the courtroom and probation's going to call you up when she's ready to go over your paperwork.

[00:02:57]>> Thank you.

[00:02:57]>> Good luck to you, ma'am. Good morning, sir. You're Jose Contreras?

[00:03:01]And will your client waive the formal reading of the indictment?

[00:03:03]>> We waive the reading.

[00:03:05]>> That's for Anna. That's >> [clears throat] >> Mr. Contreras, in cause number 25 DCCR0006, you're charged with the state jail felony offense of failure to comply with sex offender registration requirements.

[00:03:30]And that's from June 13th of 2024.

[00:03:33]Um and um how do you plead to that charge?

[00:03:37]>> Guilty.

[00:03:37]>> Are you pleading guilty freely and voluntarily?

[00:03:40]>> Yes, ma'am.

[00:03:41]>> And are you pleading guilty because you did what they charged you with?

[00:03:43]>> Yes, ma'am.

[00:03:44]>> I have here on the computer some documents that have your signature on them that the state has marked as exhibit number one. Before you sign these, did you go over them with Mr. um Parker?

[00:03:54]>> Yes, ma'am.

[00:03:55]Speak up.

[00:03:56]>> Yes, ma'am.

[00:03:56]>> And do you fully understand them?

[00:03:58]>> I'm going to call him.

[00:03:59]>> And do you understand if I follow the agreement that you made with the district attorney that you'll be waiving or giving up any right to appeal?

[00:04:06]>> Yes, ma'am.

[00:04:07]>> And it looks like the agreement that you've reached is for a 4-year deferred probation. There would be a $500 fine, and you would be required to follow all of the rules and conditions of probation. Is that your understanding?

[00:04:19]Um also, do you understand if you're not a US citizen that a plea of guilty or no contest may result in your deportation, exclusion from admission to the country, or denial of naturalization under federal law?

[00:04:29]>> Yes, ma'am.

[00:04:30]>> State tenders [clears throat] number one.

[00:04:31]>> No objection.

[00:04:32]>> It's admitted. Is there any evidence that Mr. Contreras is not competent?

[00:04:35]>> No, sir.

[00:04:36]>> All right, sir. I'm going to find that you entered your plea of guilty freely and voluntarily. Find that you're mentally competent and you understand the nature and the consequences of your plea.

[00:04:44]Find sufficient evidence to find you guilty. However, I'm going to reset your case so that the probation department can do a pre-sentence report. That'll give me more information about you and your case, and then we'll come back later for sentencing. You need to stop and talk to probation on your way out of the courtroom today, and she's sitting at that desk right there. Okay? We'll see you back at sentencing.

[00:05:05]And then, Mr. Parker, you have Jeremiah Davis. Mr. Parker, Mr. Jones, make sure you call >> right now.

[00:05:12]>> Okay.

[00:05:12]>> I have it. It's from my office.

[00:05:15]>> Mr. Jones, make sure you get with Thank you, Mr. Nicholas. Make sure you call make an appointment to go see Mr. Parker as so that y'all can go over everything so we can get an announcement at the next court date. Okay? You're free to go.

[00:05:29]And then, you've got Steven Wilburn, Mr. Parker.

[00:05:34]Steven Wilburn, you can come up, sir.

[00:05:36]Mr. Wilburn, in cause number 24 DCCR2346, you're charged with a third-degree felony offense of driving while intoxicated third or more, and that is from September 27th of 2024. The indictment alleges you were previously convicted of driving while intoxicated November 24th of 1998, June 29th of 1999, and then again April 26th of 2000. And how do you plead to that charge?

[00:06:03]And are those prior convictions true?

[00:06:06]Did you enter your plea of guilty freely and voluntarily?

[00:06:10]And did you plead guilty because you actually did what they charged you with?

[00:06:14]I have here a tablet, some documents that have your signature on them that the state's marked as exhibit number one. Before you signed these, did you go over them with Mr. Parker?

[00:06:23]And do you fully understand them?

[00:06:26]And do you understand if I follow the agreement that you've made with the district attorney that you'll be waiving or giving up any right to appeal?

[00:06:33]And it looks like the agreement that you've reached is for a 10-year term in prison that would be probated for 6 years. You would have a $1,000 fine and be required to follow all of the rules and conditions of probation. Is that your understanding?

[00:06:47]Also, do you understand if you're not a US citizen that a plea of guilty or no contest may result in your deportation, exclusion from admission to the country, or denial of naturalization under federal law?

[00:06:59]State tenders number one.

[00:07:01]It's admitted any evidence Mr. Wilburn is not competent.

[00:07:05]All right, sir. I'm going to find that you entered your plea of guilty freely and voluntarily. Find that you're mentally competent and you understand the nature and the consequences of that plea.

[00:07:14]Find sufficient evidence to find you guilty. However, I'm going to reset your case for sentencing so that the probation department can do an pre-sentence report. That'll give me more information about you, your case, and then we'll come back later for sentencing. You need to stop and talk to probation on your way out of the courtroom and she's sitting at that desk right over there. All right. We'll see you back at sentencing.

[00:07:35]Alan, did I get discovery on that one?

[00:07:39]Good morning. This is Mr. Smith's on Jamal Fontenot.

[00:07:52]Answer, you are Jamal Fontenot?

[00:07:54]>> Yes, ma'am.

[00:07:54]>> And Mr. Fontenot is charged with burglary of a habitation in cause number 24 DCCR2250 and what is the announcement?

[00:08:02]>> received the media. She has an appointment with my office this coming Thursday to come view that media so we can kind of get on the same page about what that looks like.

[00:08:10]>> I could just have a resetting to get this on the docket.

[00:08:12]>> Sure.

[00:08:12]>> Any [clears throat] issues?

[00:08:14]>> Okay.

[00:08:15]>> Perfect. All right, I'll just reset.

[00:08:17]Normal reset. Mr. Fontenot, make sure you go make that appointment so you can look over everything that the your attorneys received and we'll see if we can get an announcement the next court date. Okay? We'll see you then.

[00:08:27]>> Thank you, Your Honor.

[00:08:27]>> Thank you, ma'am.

[00:08:28]Yes.

[00:08:32]Say, Mr. Burbank, you have Renesha Chaison. Renesha Chaison?

[00:08:37]>> Yes.

[00:08:37]>> And Ms. Chaison is charged with 24 DCCR2351.

[00:08:43]She's charged with injury to a child, elderly or disabled individual. Then there's a motion to revoke probation in 1933107.

[00:08:51]And so, I know there was some There's a co-defendant.

[00:08:55]>> Judge, if I may, the co-defendant was actually sentenced to bed time last week. He was able to take care of that for me last >> Okay.

[00:09:02]>> Monday morning which puts us in a much better position with respect to Ms. Chaison. Everything has been going well since she's been out on bond. I have extended an offer that was different from the one that before Mr. Williams played. So, I think we're pretty close to getting on that. So, hopefully so.

[00:09:20]>> And to be honest with the court, Judge, last week kind of threw me a little bit because of the days that she had. I just need to talk to her and it should be resolved.

[00:09:29]>> Okay. So, just a couple weeks?

[00:09:30]>> I'd be fine with >> Okay. We'll do about a two-week reset.

[00:09:32]Make sure you get in touch with Mr. Burbank, go visit with him about everything and then we'll get um case taken care of at the next court date.

[00:09:38]>> Yes.

[00:09:46]Okay, sounds good. Thank you for being here. Good morning, you're Jermaine Young?

[00:09:50]And this is 24DCCR0916.

[00:09:54]Mr. Young is charged with aggravated sexual assault of a child. Mr. Burbank?

[00:10:14]It is.

[00:10:20]Yes, so just want y'all to visit before court day.

[00:10:24]Um Okay.

[00:10:33]Um Ms. Malfino?

[00:10:36]Me.

[00:10:36]>> I I don't have an an update uh additional that >> Patricia Benton?

[00:10:45]Okay, perfect. So, I'll just do this will be the last reset. It'll be a normal 30-day reset. Give you plenty of time to visit with Ms. Malfino, Mr. Hofbauer. Make sure you visit with Mr. Burbank before that next court date so that y'all have a plan on what to do on your case when we come back, okay?

[00:11:00]All right, thank you.

[00:11:01]Yes. Good morning, you're Glenn Hicks?

[00:11:04]And um Mr. Hicks was previously in court. This is cause number 25DCCR0369.

[00:11:12]Entered a plea of guilty to the third-degree felony offense of assault family violence by impeding breath or circulation. I received the pre-sentence report. Has everyone had an opportunity to review that report?

[00:11:24]Any additions or corrections?

[00:11:27]All right, Mr. Hicks, I'm going to find that you previously entered your plea of guilty freely and voluntarily. Find uh sufficient evidence to find you guilty.

[00:11:34]However, I'm going to follow the agreement that you made with the district attorney and defer all proceedings and place you on probation for 5 years. You're ordered to pay the $500 fine and to follow all of the rules and conditions of probation. If you do that, this is an excellent opportunity because you do not have the felony conviction on your record. And if you successfully complete the probation, at the end the case gets dismissed.

[00:11:57]The other side of that though is if you violate any condition of probation, when you come back you could be brought back into court, found guilty of the offense, so you would be a convicted felon, and you could go to prison for anywhere between two and up to 10 years. Do you understand?

[00:12:10]>> Yes, ma'am.

[00:12:11]>> I want to make sure you understand that you are also part of your probation is not have any contact at all with January Corpus.

[00:12:19]So, I don't know what the status of that relationship is, but it's over if it's not already. She cannot give you permission to violate this order, okay?

[00:12:28]So, she can't say it's okay, I want to get back together or anything like that.

[00:12:32]You cannot contact her in person, you can't have communication on your phone or Snapchat or whatever it is. Do you understand?

[00:12:38]>> Yes, ma'am.

[00:12:39]>> Okay. I'm handing you the trial court certification that shows this was an agreement that I followed and so you've waived your right to appeal. You need to just have a seat here in the courtroom.

[00:12:48]Probation's going to call you up to her desk when she's ready to go over all your paperwork. Good luck to you, sir.

[00:12:52]Good morning, how are you?

[00:12:53]>> Good, how are you?

[00:12:54]>> Good.

[00:12:58]>> Hi, Judge. Mr. Jones is not here. Uh I spoke with We have an offer for dismissal with restitution. I spoke with Mr. Jones on Friday and told him about that.

[00:13:05]Uh he said he needed about 2 weeks to get that money in. I told him we can come today and ask for the reset, but he had to be here.

[00:13:11]Got a phone call this morning. I I just saw a message right now. He's He was in the hospital apparently yesterday and he cannot be here this morning.

[00:13:17]>> Okay.

[00:13:19]>> No response, John.

[00:13:20]>> So, um his bond What I'll do, I'm going to forfeit his bond for non-appearance and reset it at 100,000. If he gives you I need some confirmation that he's was in the hospital or still in the hospital or something. Um and then I'll recall that. So, he needs to get that to you pretty quick.

[00:13:35]>> Yes, ma'am.

[00:13:35]>> Okay, thanks. Uh Deshondra Joseph, Mr. Rojas.

[00:13:43]Good morning. You're Deshondra Joseph?

[00:13:45]And um this is 24DCCR0708.

[00:13:50]Ms. Joseph is charged with injury to a child, elderly, or disabled individual.

[00:13:55]And what is the announcement?

[00:13:57]>> He signed a rejection >> Oh, is there something on the tablet?

[00:14:02]Can y'all check the tablet, please?

[00:14:04]>> It's not on the tablet.

[00:14:06]>> All right, great.

[00:14:09]>> [clears throat] >> Here it is.

[00:14:13]>> Okay.

[00:14:20]So, again, Ms. Joseph, uh what you're charged with is a state jail felony offense, and that's from February 20th of 2024. And what that means is if you go to trial and you're found guilty, the range of punishment could be between 6 months and up to 2 years in a state jail prison. Do you understand?

[00:14:37]>> Yes, ma'am.

[00:14:39]>> And I think I'm about to have something, maybe.

[00:14:59]What? It's gone.

[00:15:05]>> What 40?

[00:15:07]>> Oh, okay. I was about to say, it can't be that. Okay, and so um somewhere there is a plea bargain rejection that you've signed with Mr. Rojas. This shows that the District Attorney's Office has made an offer if you wanted to enter a plea of guilty for a 4-year deferred probation. You have every right to reject that and have your case set for trial. I want to make sure you understand what the possible consequences are if you go to trial and what your options are. And do you understand all of that?

[00:15:32]>> Yes, ma'am.

[00:15:33]>> Also, I want to make sure you understand that what I once I put your case on the trial docket, then I won't accept this plea agreement after today. So, if there's any unless there's a change in some information that your attorney or the state's attorney gets. Do you understand that as well?

[00:15:46]>> Yes, ma'am.

[00:15:47]>> And do you want to reject that offer and have your case set for trial?

[00:15:50]>> Yes, ma'am.

[00:15:50]>> Okay, we'll get it set for trial. And Mr. Rojas um has been appointed to represent you.

[00:15:56]Uh he's one of the attorneys who handles a lot of cases for me as a court-appointed attorney.

[00:16:00]With your permission, I can release him.

[00:16:02]I can appoint another attorney today who could begin preparation for trial a little quicker. Is that okay with you?

[00:16:07]All right, so Mr. Rojas, you're released. Miss Joseph, if you'll have a seat over here on this side of the courtroom, the clerk will call you up in a few minutes with that information.

[00:16:14]>> Yes, ma'am.

[00:16:15]>> And so, do we have it?

[00:16:17]>> Yes, ma'am.

[00:16:18]>> You've got it. Okay. Good morning.

[00:16:19]You're Anthony Williams. And Mr. Williams, this is cause number 24 DCCR 0401.

[00:16:26]You were previously in court entered a plea of guilty to evading detention with a motor vehicle. I've received the pre-sentence report. Has everyone had an opportunity to review that report?

[00:16:35]>> We have, Your Honor.

[00:16:37]>> Mr. Smith.

[00:16:37]>> Yes, Judge.

[00:16:38]>> Any uh additions or corrections?

[00:16:40]>> Nothing to state.

[00:16:41]>> No, Your Honor.

[00:16:42]>> All right, then Mr. Williams, I am going to find that you previously entered your plea of guilty freely and voluntarily.

[00:16:47]Find sufficient evidence to find you guilty and at this time um the agreement that you made with the district attorney and find you guilty of evading arrest or detention with the use of a vehicle.

[00:16:56]Sentence you >> Today's courtroom session was packed with warnings, plea deals, probation opportunities, and high-stakes decisions.

[00:17:05]Some defendants walked away with a second chance, while others moved one step closer to trial.

[00:17:11]But the message from the judge remained consistent throughout the day. Follow the rules, take responsibility, and don't waste the opportunities you're given.

[00:17:19]Which case stood out to you the most?

[00:17:22]Share your thoughts below and don't forget to like, subscribe, and turn on notifications for more real courtroom breakdowns and legal analysis.