A Clarendon man will spend 24 months in the state jail for violating his probation terms, the district court ordered last week.
A contested revocation hearing resulted in the conviction and sentence of Edward Butler to two years in the State Jail Division of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, the maximum range of punishment allowed by law for the state jail felony offense.
On March 25, 2009, Butler originally pleaded guilty to the state jail felony offense of evading arrest that occurred on April 12, 2008, in Donley County.
The State filed the motion to adjudicate on July 14, 2010, alleging seven violations of community supervision.
Butler, a 22-year-old Clarendon resident, pleaded not true to allegations listed in the State’s Motion to Adjudicate Guilt of Defendant.
During the contested revocation, evidence was provided by District Attorney Luke Inman that Butler failed two drug tests, failed to pay certain probation fees for certain months in 2009 and 2010, and failed to perform court ordered community supervision hours.
Inman called three witnesses at the contested hearing.
Mark White testified as Butler’s probation officer through the 100th Judicial District Community Supervision Corrections Department. Becky Fuller, the Director of the CSCD and Donley County Sheriff Butch Blackburn provided testimony during the punishment phase of the hearing.
“We have a fantastic probation department that works with the probationers to make sure they are following the conditions of probation,” said Inman. “Once we arrive at a contested revocation hearing, we’ve usually exhausted all remedies of alternative sanctions.”
At the close of all the evidence, District Judge Stuart Messer sentenced Butler to 24 months in the State Jail Division of the TDCJ. Butler is also required to pay $390 in court costs to Donley County and a $2,500 fine.
Also in district court here December 9, Christi Thryselius-English pleaded true to allegations listed in the State’s Motion to Adjudicate Guilt of Defendant and was convicted and sentenced to ten years in the Institutional Division of the TDCJ, but the sentence was probated for a period of five years.
On October 19, 2009, English originally pleaded guilty to the second degree felony offense of possession of certain chemicals with intent to manufacture a controlled substance that occurred on September 24, 2009, in Carson County.
The State filed the motion to adjudicate on April 6, 2010, alleging two violations of community supervision.
English is also required to pay $313 in court costs to Carson County, $140 restitution, and a $1,000 fine.
And in another case of local interest, Derek Lee Thomas pleaded true to allegations listed in the State’s Motion to Adjudicate Guilt of Defendant when the court met in Wellington on December 8 and was convicted and sentenced to 18 months in the State Jail Division of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.
On April 12, 2010, Thomas originally pleaded guilty to the state jail felony offense of tampering with a witness that occurred on April 12, 2010, in Donley County.
The State filed the motion to adjudicate on October 4, 2010, alleging seven violations of community supervision.
Thomas pleaded true to violations contained in the State’s motion and was sentenced to eighteen months in the TDCJ. Thomas is also required to pay $478 in court costs to Donley County and a $1,000 fine.
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