Defendant Jacob Kawazawi pleads no-contest; judge sentences him to 20 years with deadly-weapon finding

Jacob Kawazawi appeared by counsel and entered a no-contest plea to the charge brought by the state; the court accepted the plea and imposed a 20-year prison term with an affirmative deadly-weapon finding. Nut graf: The plea was entered after counsel confirmed discovery and the defendant’s understanding of admonishments. The court noted the statutory punishment range before accepting the plea, and the state introduced documentary evidence. A victim-impact hold was set and a July 29 status was scheduled to finalize transfer and victim-impact matters. The state announced for the record and tendered State’s Exhibit 1 with attachments. Defense counsel and Kawazawi confirmed they had reviewed discovery and the indictment and waived the reading. The judge confirmed Kawazawi understood court admonishments including the range of punishment and the consequences of waiving jury trial and appeal rights. The court found sufficient evidence in the stipulated materials and accepted the plea. The court pronounced sentence at 20 years in prison, ordered an affirmative deadly-weapon finding, and required credit for any time served. The court set a recall/hold for victim-impact procedures and scheduled a review for July 29 to process the transfer to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice and complete victim-impact arrangements. Ending: The court advised Kawazawi about collateral consequences of a felony conviction, including firearms prohibitions, and the case was continued to the July 29 status date for victim-impact processing.