State vs. Jose Herrera
Continuous Sexual Abuse of a Child
Lead: Ward Weber
2nd Chair: Janie Martinez
DA Investigator: Howard Sparks
DA Victim Advocate: Audri Graham
The defendant was found guilty of continuously sexually abusing a child under the age of 14.
GUILTY and sentenced to LIFE in prison without the possibility of parole.
Zeric Jackson
Murder
Lead: Dimitri Anagnostis
Pick: Leah Dintino
DA Investigator: Reggie Woods & John Schingle
Investigating Agency: Dallas Police Department
The defendant was released from prison and placed on parole in 2022. Not even six months later, the defendant was upset to learn that his girlfriend was spending time with a male friend of hers. The defendant left his job at Walmart, followed the girlfriend and the victim, and then went to his girlfriend’s house to wait for them to arrive there. Once they were at his girlfriend’s house, he killed the victim, and drove back to work.
The jury, understanding how dangerous the defendant was, assessed punishment at 80 years in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.
GUILTY and sentenced to 80 years in prison.
State vs. Cody Mayo
Aggravated Sexual Assault
Aggravated Kidnapping Sexual Abuse
Lead: Haley Pratt
2nd Chair: Trey Stock
DA Investigator: Abigail Cruz
DA Victim Advocate: Adriana Sellers
On a Sunday afternoon in November, the defendant picked up the victim to spend time together. Immediately upon picking her up, the defendant put the victim in a chokehold. The victim broke free, but the defendant took control and put her in the backseat of his car. The defendant proceeded to strangle the victim to the point she threw up, urinated, and lost consciousness. Then, the defendant raped her. The victim woke up and was able to momentarily escape until the defendant grabbed her and put her in the trunk of his car. The defendant started driving, at which point, the victim pulled the emergency latch and escaped. While only wearing a shirt, the victim ran through a nearby apartment complex until she reached a friend’s apartment where she was able to get a weapon to defend herself. At that point, the defendant fled the scene.
The defendant was apprehended about two weeks later with the victim’s clothes and urine remover, which he purchased the night of the incident, in his car. Ultimately, with a jury in the hallway, the defendant pleaded guilty to both cases as charged.
GUILTY plea and sentenced to 30 years in prison for each case.
State vs. Gabriel Lule
Murder
Lead: William Davidson
2nd Chair: Nadin-Sarah Salkic
DA Investigators: Tom Naulty, Jesse Cantu, Bonita Morgan
DA Video Room: Irene Duong
Investigating Agency: Dallas Police Department
On September 25, 2022, the defendant hit the victim with his car then turned around and ran the victim over again. Based on witness testimony, the defendant and the victim did not know each other very well, but they did know of each other through the defendant’s uncle who was the victim’s best friend. The defendant was a 28-year-old while the victim was a 66-year-old ex-murder convict who always carried brass knuckles on him. According to the defendant, on the day of the offense, there was an altercation between them that caused the defendant to be in fear for his life, prompting him to run the victim over twice. Quite a bit of time passed between running the victim over the first and second times. After running the victim over twice, the defendant went home, showered, made dinner, and went to sleep. The victim's DNA was found under the defendant’s car and Crash Data Retrieval put the defendant at the offense location. Additionally, there was a surveillance camera across the street from where the offense occurred, but all that was playable was a recording that the detective made of the offense. The full video pulled from an SD card was encrypted and could not be viewed. During the trial, defense counsel argued that the lack of the original surveillance video made it seem that there was evidence that showed a prior altercation that justified self-defense and that the State did nothing to get the full video. Irene Duong, a Forensic Digital Media Evidence Tech with the DA’s Office, testified and did an amazing job explaining the lengths taken to get the video to play including going into the field and meeting with a witness and prosecutor. Her testimony and video were key to the jury deliberating for less than an hour before coming back with a guilty verdict. The jury heard about the defendant’s prior convictions and behavior and sentenced him to 25 years in prison.
GUILTY and sentenced to 25 years in prison.
State vs. Sean Clewis
Employee Theft
Lead: Melinda Chaney
2nd Chair: Amber Moore
DA Investigator: Alexander Lipsey
DA Forensic Financial Analyst: DeAnna Debenport
Investigating Agency: Dallas Police Department
The defendant misused a company credit card assigned to him for business-related expenses such as fuel and maintenance for the company vehicles. Instead, the defendant used the card for his benefit, purchasing fuel for his own vehicles and personal meals without the complainant’s effective consent.
This case was challenging due to the expenses being made under the guise of business purposes. However, with the aid of the forensic financial analyst, the thorough analysis played a crucial role in the Judge’s decision to find the defendant guilty of theft.
GUILTY and sentenced to 5 years in prison probated for 4 years + $6,176 in restitution.
State vs. Kawania Lynn
Criminal Mischief
Lead: Sarah Beth Delay
2nd Chair: Max Ternosky
DA Investigator: Michael Csaszar
DA Paralegal: Stephanie Thompson
Investigating Agency: Lancaster Police Department
A DeSoto Firefighter’s dream home turned into a nightmare home when the defendant showed up on move-in day with a brick and started smashing windows, mere feet from where the firefighter’s infant son slept. After years on bond, five different defense attorneys, dozens of pro-se motions, and one grueling cross-examination, a just guilty verdict was secured as well as peace of mind for a local hero.
GUILTY and sentenced to 4 years straight probation + a Stay Away Order from the offense location.
