Jury imposes 55-year term; judge sentences Paul Edward Westbrooks Jr. in Jefferson County murder case

A Jefferson County jury on Oct. 12, 2025, found that defendant Paul Edward Westbrooks Jr. had at least one prior felony conviction and assessed his punishment at 55 years' imprisonment with no fine, and the judge sentenced him to that term.

The jury's finding that at least one prior felony conviction was true increased Westbrooks's statutory punishment range for the murder conviction. The prosecution introduced certified judgments and fingerprint comparisons linking Westbrooks to prior convictions; Investigator Troy Robinson of the Jefferson County District Attorney's Office testified that the inked prints from the defendant matched the prints on the prior judgment records. The court then read the jury charge explaining the applicable punishment ranges and parole eligibility rules before counsel gave closing arguments.

The penalty phase mattered because the presence of a prior felony conviction raises the minimum term in a murder case. The charge told jurors that if at least one prior felony conviction was proved, the applicable imprisonment range was 15 to 99 years or life; if no prior conviction was proved, the range was 5 to 99 years or life. The court also instructed jurors that parole eligibility generally occurs when a defendant serves one-half of the sentence imposed or 30 years, whichever is less, and that parole eligibility does not guarantee release.

During evidence, the state offered certified copies of prior judgments from Jefferson County and the fingerprint card the investigator took from Westbrooks. The judgments offered into evidence included case numbers reflected in court records (for example, cause no. 10-08944 for a 2012 burglary-of-habitation conviction and cause no. 12-14152 for a 2013 robbery conviction). Robinson testified he had compared the defendant's inked prints (introduced as State's Exhibit 22) to the prints on the prior judgments (introduced as State's Exhibits 33–36) and answered on cross that "They are" the same individual when asked whether the prints were made by the same person.

In closing, defense counsel Mr. Vasquez urged jurors to show mercy and said, "I just hope to give him a chance." The prosecutor, Mr. Smith, argued for a significant sentence and told jurors, "Justice is what he deserves," stressing the number of prior convictions and the seriousness of the offense. After deliberation, the jury returned a unanimous verdict assessing punishment at 55 years and no fine. The judge pronounced sentence "in conformity with the jury's verdict" and ordered Westbrooks remanded to the Jefferson County Sheriff's Department for transportation to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, giving him credit for time served and providing written admonishments about firearm possession and appeal rights.

The defense rested without calling witnesses in the punishment phase. The court provided jurors with written charge forms reflecting both possible verdict outcomes (prior conviction proved true or not true) and procedures for deliberation. The judge also explained that fines, if assessed, are not collected to compensate victims and that a monetary fine would likely not be collectible if the defendant is confined.

The record shows the jury's punishment verdict was unanimous. The sentence will be carried out through the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, and the defendant was remanded immediately following the sentencing hearing.

Details from the hearing that were admitted into evidence and relied on by the jury include certified prior-judgment records (identified in court by cause numbers) and the investigator's fingerprint comparisons. No motion or post-trial action related to the sentence was announced in court immediately after sentencing.