State vs. Isaac Sledge
Aggravated Sexual Assault
Lead: Chelsey McHenry
2nd Chair: Blake Penfield
DA Investigator: Lee Thompson
DA Victim Advocate: Adriana Sellers
Investigating Agency: Dallas Police Department
The victim and defendant had been hanging out earlier in the afternoon and went to get a drink at a gas station. The defendant locked the victim in the back of his car and drove around with her for hours and stopped in various places. He forced the victim to perform sexual acts and repeatedly assaulted her whenever she refused. The victim was finally able to get away the next morning when the defendant ran out of gas.
GUILTY plea and sentenced to 20 years in prison
State vs. Ricardo Reyes
Accident Causing Death
Accident Causing Serious Bodily Injury
Lead: Nadin-Sarah Salkic
2nd Chair: Eleanor Pomeroy
DA Investigator: John Davison
Investigating Agency: Dallas Police Department
The defendant was the designated driver for a group of friends. Around 6 in the morning, he might have dozed off and allowed the car to hit the median wall on Central Expressway. Upon hitting the wall, the car flipped over several times. In the process, two backseat passengers who were not wearing a seatbelt were injured. A male was ejected, he hit the pavement and passed away shortly. A female was injured inside the car. The defendant ran away from the scene with the 4th passenger. Multiple strangers stopped by and provided help in the form of calling 911 and/or CPR. The defendant turned himself in less than 12 hours later remorseful that his best friend passed away. The State presented evidence from the case as well as minuscule criminal history, while the Defense presented a slew of character witnesses.
GUILTY plea. The jury sentenced him to 4 years on the death case and 2 years on the SBI case and recommended probation. The judge placed him on probation for 10 years with intense conditions.
State vs. Sarah Cox
Driving While Intoxicated
Lead: Bailey Buchmeyer
2nd Chair: Jillian Kushner
Legal Assistant: LaTonya Peoples
Investigating Agency: Garland Police Department
Special thanks to ADAS Mason Rodriguez, Jordan Williams, and Kim Rojas
Police were dispatched to a car accident where the defendant had run into a light pole, went through wrong-way traffic, hit a rock, and stopped upright in a parking lot. The defendant declined medical assistance at the scene, repeatedly saying she was fine and attempting to leave the scene. The defendant then told officers that she probably had, “a little too much to drink” when they asked her what happened. Officer Griffeth with the DWI Unit was called out and, after medically clearing the defendant, had her perform Standard Field Sobriety Tests. The defendant failed all the tests and was arrested. The defendant was unable to provide a breath sample and ultimately had her blood drawn at the ER two hours later – showing a Blood Alcohol Content of 0.151. A prime example of why we prosecute DWI cases, the jury returned a guilty verdict after seeing the scene and the blood score.
GUILTY and sentenced to 120 days confinement in the county jail probated for 12 months
