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Felony Division
Lamar County's felony prosecutors
include DA Gary Young, First Assistant Bill Harris, and Jill
Drake.
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A felony offense is any offense
for which the punishment set by law is by confinement in a state
jail facility or the state penitentiary, or by death in the case
of a Capital Murder. Lamar County's felony cases are prosecuted
in the 6th and 62nd district courts.
Felony prosecutors responsibilities
include evaluating new cases, contacting victims of crime, determining
the proper plea bargain recommendation, preparing cases for trial,
and representing the State of Texas in all criminal hearings
and trials conducted in the district courts. Cases are disposed
of by trials before juries, trials before a court without a jury
or by agreed plea agreements.
Felony prosecutors in Lamar County
work closely with the Sheriff’s Office, police departments
in the county, the Texas Department of Public Safety, and the
Texas Department Criminal Justice to share information and to
prepare cases for successful prosecution.
Each prosecuting attorney is
charged by statute with the duty to “seek justice”.
This is done by aggressively representing the State of Texas.
Victims of crime are contacted to assess economic and physical
damage as well as to seek input regarding proper punishment for
the crime. Repeat and habitual offenders are routinely assessed
long prison sentences to punish the offender and deter others.
Young, non-violent offenders
are sometimes provided the opportunity to seek rehabilitation
through felony probation. Conditions of probation can be assessed
to encourage an offender to become a contributing member of our
community or risk a trip to the penitentiary. These conditions
may include restitution to the victim, community service hours,
counseling, drug rehabilitation programs, fines and court-costs,
as determined by the court. |
Gary Young
County & District Attorney
Bill Harris
First Assistant County
& District Attorney
Jill Drake
Assistant County
& District Attorney
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Each felony prosecutor conscientiously
evaluates cases to make a plea bargain recommendation which fits
the crime and history of the offender.
Here are felony classifications and punishment ranges:
Capital Felony: Punishment range is Death or Life in
Prison. Capital murder is the only capital offense, and is defined
as murder committed while in the process of committing another
felony offense.
Felony 1 Offense: Punishment range is 5-99 years or life
in the Institutional Division-Texas Department of Criminal Justice
(ID-TDCJ) and an optional fine up to $10,000. If a person is
placed on probation for a Felony 1 offense (some Felony 1 offenses
are not eligible for probation), the probation term would be
at least 2 years ( 5 for some offenses) but not more than 10
years. For certain types of offenses, the term of probation could
be extended up to 20 years. Some examples of Felony 1 offenses
include: Murder (without sudden passion), Aggravated Robbery,
Aggravated Assault on a public servant, Possession of Cocaine
(depending on amount) or delivery of cocaine (depending on amount),
and Aggravated Sexual Assault.
Felony 2 Offense: Punishment range is 2-20 years in the
ID-TDCJ and an optional fine up to $10,000. If a person is placed
on probation for a Felony 2 offense, the probation term would
be at least 2 (5 years for some offenses) years but not more
than 10 years. Some examples of Felony 2 offenses include: Murder
(sudden passion), Robbery, Arson, Possession of Cocaine (depending
on amount) or delivery of cocaine (depending on amount), and
Aggravated Sexual Assault.
Felony 3 Offense: Punishment range is 2-10 years in the
ID-TDCJ and an optional fine up to $10,000. The term of probation,
if probation was granted, would be anywhere from 2-10 years (minimum
of 5 years for certain offenses). Some examples of Felony 3 offenses
include: DWI (3rd or more), Deadly Conduct (with firearm), Possession
of Firearm by Felon, Possession of Cocaine (depending on amount),
Intoxication Assault, Possession of Marijuana (depending on amount)
State Jail Felony Offense: Punishment range is 180 days to 2 years
in a State Jail Facility and an optional fine not to exceed $10,000.
If probation is granted in a State Jail Felony case, the term
for regular probation is 2-5 years (but may be extended an additional
5 -up to a total of 10 years). Deferred probation can be up to
10 years. The Court may also sentence the defendant to serve
up-front time in a State Jail or County Jail as a condition of
probation. A few examples of State Jail Felony offenses include:
Burglary of a Building, Forgery, Credit/Debit Card Abuse, Possession
of cocaine less than 1 gram, and possession of marijuana 4 oz.-5
pounds.
NOTE THAT OFFENSE CLASSIFICATIONS
AND PUNISHMENT RANGES ARE USUALLY INCREASED FOR REPEAT OR SUBSEQUENT
OFFENSES |
