SEVERAL GUILTY PLEAS IN GRIMES CO. AHEAD OF RETURN TO IN-PERSON TRIALS IN JULY

  

The Grimes County District Attorney’s Office has resumed in-person dockets in both the 12^th and 506^th District Courts, and in-person trials are set to resume in July following a year of virtual court settings.

Last week, the District Attorney’s Office secured guilty pleas in 10 separate cases.  Two of the people sentenced included an aggravated robbery suspect and a man arrested for a sixth time for Driving While Intoxicated.

19-year-old Dekeimus Jessie was sentenced to 15 years in prison after pleading guilty to committing an aggravated robbery at the Laredo Heights Apartments in April 2020, along with three other individuals.  Investigation showed Jessie was the one who held a handgun while they demanded money from victims.  The three other defendants in the case have also pleaded guilty and received prison sentences.

Separately, 38-year-old Justin Smith pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 20 years in prison after being arrested in September 2019 for Driving While Intoxicated and Possession of a Controlled Substance.  Smith was stopped by a state trooper on Highway 6 near Navasota, and blood tests revealed he had numerous drugs in his system.  A review of Smith’s criminal history showed he had five previous DWI convictions.  Due to his prior prison sentences, he was enhanceable as a habitual offender.