Judge Enters Adjudication for Candace Cox and Sends Her to State Jail

The court found Candace Leah Cox violated her felony drug-court terms and entered adjudication of guilt, revoking her deferred-adjudication status and sentencing her to two years in a state jail facility. The state proceeded on an allegation that Cox absconded from a women's sober home and removed her GPS monitor; Cox pleaded true to the single violation and waived notice to other allegations. During the hearing the prosecutor amended the charged offense description to possession of a penalty-group-1 controlled substance (less than 1 gram), and the defense waived objections to the amendment. Cox admitted the violation that she absconded and removed monitoring equipment; the judge found the violation true and, after considering arguments, imposed a two-year state-jail sentence with credit for any time served. Defense counsel described family circumstances and said Cox had obtained some treatment and family support after the events in early 2023. The judge acknowledged the mitigating statements but said the defendant’s removal of her GPS monitor and failure to participate in felony drug court programs warranted revocation of community supervision and custody. The court also ordered no unsupervised contact with minors and recommended placement in a therapeutic community as part of treatment recommendations. The order takes effect immediately and will be entered on the docket in cause 2022CR5387.