The Kendall County Jail reduced its population Wednesday as 451st state District Judge Kirsten Cohoon accepted a handful of plea deals from inmates and refereed several motions for pending felony trials.
Gustavo Alfredo Zambrano pleaded guilty to a state jail felony after he was found in possession of less than a gram of a Penalty Group 1 substance.
Cohoon sentenced Zambrano to 89 days in the Kendall County jail, which he already served. She waives his $415 in court costs as he had been without work for several months.
Justin Robert Garcia was sentenced to time served, 53 days, in the county jail for holding less than two ounces of marijuana, a Class B misdemeanor.
“Possession of marijuana in the great state of Texas is still illegal,” Cohoon warned Garcia. “So, don’t do it again because I don’t want to see you back here. I may not be so gracious.”
Before Cohoon handed down his sentence, she ensured he knew he may be deported because of his guilty verdict, questioning whether he understood the “adverse immigration consequences” tied to a guilty plea.
Cohoon then accepted two guilty pleas simultaneously.
Henry Michael Rodriguez and Ezequiel Sanchez both pleaded guilty to Class B misdemeanor charges of theft between $100 and $750, though the two cases are unrelated.
Sanchez, who entered the courtroom in the usual county jail garb of orange and grey, pleaded guilty to stealing $143 from his previous employer, Denny’s.
Cohoon sentenced Sanchez to time served, 136 days, in the Kendall County Jail.
“That’s a little over four months, so I will go ahead and waive the $270 court costs,” Cohoon said before addressing restitution to the former employer.
While the terms of Sanchez’s plea state he must pay $148 in restitution back to Denny’s, it quickly became clear the law doesn’t allow for any enforcement.
Court staff informed Cohoon, who questioned how she can enforce the restitution, that the requirement is essentially unenforceable because failure to pay back restitution doesn’t result in further charges.
“So, it’s worth the paper it’s written on,” Cohoon said, realizing there was little that could be done.
However, Sanchez told the judge he’d already paid his former employer back, totaling $150, and he’d yet to receive his final paycheck. In the end, Cohoon waived Sanchez’s restitution.
Rodriguez, who was adorned in gray prison garb, pleaded guilty to stealing $463 worth of items from H-E-B.
Cohoon sentenced Rodriguez to 60 days in county jail, of which he’d already served 34. He was taken back to the jail to serve the last 26 days of his sentence.
Motions for felony trials
Casey Graham, who is facing a second-degree felony charge for possession of a controlled substance, opted to withdrawal his retained counsel Wednesday afternoon, choosing instead to represent himself.
“I don’t know what the issue is between you and (defense attorney David) Parent,” Cohoon said to Graham upon his request. “Mr. Parent has been in front of this court in at least two dozen cases in front of this bench. And he does a fine job in those cases. I don’t know what your problem is with Mr. Parent, and I’m not about to step in the middle of that. But I also don’t have to agree with this.”
The motion came before Cohoon’s bench just 30 days before Graham is set for trial on the charge, which carries punishment of up to 20 years, something Cohoon reminded the defendant of.
Graham’s counsel, Parent, said it was both the defendant’s and the attorney’s desire to have Parent withdrawn from the case.
Further, when Graham said he intended to move forward representing himself, Parent said he did not want to be Graham’s standby counsel assisting in his case.
After some consideration and filing paperwork to ensure Graham has access to standby counsel, Cohoon accepted the motion for Parent to withdraw from the case.
“I am not going to give you an extension of time which means you have a jury trial coming up in less than 30 days,” Cohoon said, allowing Graham to begin discussing his case with the state.
Before being escorted back to the jail, Graham asked the judge about getting access to the county’s legal library, saying he cannot access it from the jail.
Cohoon said he would need to speak with his standby counsel to resolve the issue as she didn’t have the power to get him to and from the jail to access to the legal library.
Edgar Villa’s defense counsel sought a continuance for his client, saying he was only given nine days to prepare for trial – something Cohoon took issue with.
“You keep saying to me, ‘nine days.’ I’m confused by the statement,” Cohoon said, reminding the defense attorney he didn’t object to the short turnaround when she set the date.
Villa’s attorney had filed a motion to set bond, which Cohoon previously denied. Instead, she set a speedy trial to resolve the matter.
Villa is facing a charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon after being accused of assaulting his ex-girlfriend.
Cohoon denied a second motion to set bond Wednesday because the offense arose while Villa was on a deferred adjudication program for injury to a child – another family violence offense.
“Mr. Martinez (defense attorney), I understand that sometimes, Mr. Villa, we wish things could be just a little bit more clearly written,” Cohoon said, referencing the law which she says allow her to deny bond.
“Unfortunately, in this instance, I do believe it is written, and it allows me to deny bond in this case. I’m going to stand with that decision,” the judge said.
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