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Judge declines to revoke probation for Gustavo Vasquez, orders reporting changes and follow-up with probation office
Summary
At a probation-revocation hearing, the judge found evidence the defendant had attempted compliance and continued probation while directing a transfer to a higher-reporting caseload and instructing staff to contact a Port Arthur officer about reporting breakdowns.
A Jefferson County judge declined to revoke the probation of Gustavo Vasquez at a July 21 hearing but ordered immediate case management changes and follow-up with probation staff after finding inconsistencies in reporting and registration attempts.
The court said probation and treatment records showed Vasquez had made some attempts to comply but that his reported progress with provider Dr. Asteras was “below average and needs improvement.” The judge said it was difficult to revoke probation when there was evidence the defendant was attempting compliance and noted apparent communication lapses from an officer at the Port Arthur Police Department who had not returned calls or emails.
The judge ordered Vasquez to continue on probation, to make every effort to register and to document weekly contact attempts with probation and the reporting officer. The judge said he would move Vasquez to a different, higher-reporting caseload “so that he has to report more often” until registration and reporting problems were resolved. The court also instructed probation staff to contact the Port Arthur chief to determine why Officer Clark had not responded to calls and emails and to address any systemic reporting issues.
The judge emphasized that Vasquez must attend treatment appointments with Dr. Asteras and follow program requirements closely; the court warned that “below average and needs improvement is not going to be acceptable” going forward. The defendant was ordered to document calls and keep probation informed of attempts to register so the record shows a good-faith effort to comply.
Those directions preserved the probation sentence while raising supervision intensity and directing administrative follow-up to fix reporting gaps in another agency that the court said could place the community at risk if left unresolved.
