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Court grants deferred adjudication, bars unsupervised contact with child until treatment progress shown
Summary
A 25‑year‑old defendant received six years deferred adjudication concurrent with county charges, with parenting classes and no unsupervised contact with his daughter until the court receives favorable treatment‑evaluation progress.
A Bexar County judge deferred adjudication in a drug possession case for a 25‑year‑old defendant and imposed conditions including parenting classes and a no‑unsupervised‑contact order with his young daughter pending completion of treatment recommendations.
Judge Stephanie Boyd, 187th District Court, deferred a finding of guilt and ordered six years of deferred adjudication to run concurrent with county court cause number 730915 after defendant Stefan Palacios Cruz pleaded and consented to stipulation of testimony on Jan. 12.
Defense counsel told the court Cruz had recently turned 25, has no prior convictions, is employed and is pursuing culinary training; counsel said Cruz “wants to become a chef, and he wants to change his life around and be there for his daughter.” The defendant told the court he had not used drugs in over six months during direct questioning.
The court ordered regular reporting (Zoom or in person), random UAs, a TAP evaluation with adherence to recommendations, referral to felony drug court and a TAP evaluation out of custody, and 200 hours of community service restitution with a partial waiver structure tied to completing parenting classes and later educational or trade achievements. The judge ordered 60 sober meetings in 60 days and restitution for testing to the San Antonio Police Department.
Significantly, Boyd ordered no unsupervised contact with the child’s mother, Alexandra Hernandez Mejia, and no unsupervised contact with the child. The judge explained she would revisit the no‑contact restriction after review of the TAP evaluation and, if the defendant returned in six months with a clean record and favorable evaluation results, she would “strongly consider” lifting the restriction.
The judge explained the court’s approach focuses on treatment and the child’s safety: if the co‑defendant continues to use drugs, supervised exchanges will be routed through maternal grandparents. The court instructed the defendant to communicate regularly with probation and said failure to follow conditions could lead to adjudication and exposure to the full sentencing range.
Probation will conduct field visits monthly and monitor compliance with the parenting and treatment conditions the court ordered.
