Judge West clears a packed 252nd District Court docket: multiple guilty pleas, sentences and a competency commitment

Judge West, presiding judge of the 252nd District Court, handled a full docket that included guilty pleas, sentencing hearings, probation revocation proceedings, requests to reset jury trials and a court-ordered inpatient competency commitment.

The most consequential single ruling came in a competency matter: “based on the 2 physician certificate of medical examination as well as the trial competency evaluation report, I'm going to find that [the defendant] is mentally ill … and order inpatient treatment, hopefully, for a competency restoration for a period of not to exceed 1 year,” Judge West said during a hearing on a defendant who has been referred to Rusk State Hospital. That judge's finding follows two physician certificates and a trial competency evaluation in the court file.

Why it matters: the competency finding removes that case from active trial progress and places the defendant in a state inpatient program for up to a year while the court waits to see whether restoration is possible. Meanwhile, the court resolved numerous other matters that will immediately affect defendants' custody status, supervision and potential prison exposure.

Key outcomes from the docket (selected items announced from the bench): - Mister Watkins: Judge West found sufficient evidence and sentenced Mister Watkins to 10 years in the institutional division of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice after a guilty plea to an offense of assault of a child (cause no. 23DCCR0198). The court noted the defendant’s waiver of appeal and gave standard admonishments about firearm ineligibility.

- Johnny Jacobo Ramon (24DCCR1372): The court accepted a guilty plea to accident involving death and found the plea voluntary; the judge reset the case for sentencing to allow the probation department to prepare a pre-sentence investigation report (the plea agreement included a 15-year cap on punishment). The judge instructed the defense to provide relevant information for sentencing when the probation report is filed.

- Cynthia Campbell (2240282): Campbell pleaded true to the allegations in a motion to revoke unadjudicated probation (counts 1–8) including missed reporting and positive drug tests; Judge West found the allegations true and sentenced her, in accordance with the agreement, to five years in the institutional division of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice with an affirmative deadly-weapon finding noted in the record.

- Denzel Lewis (24DCCR2434): The court accepted a plea of guilty to unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon and sentenced Lewis to six years in the institutional division of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. The judge read jail conduct records into the sentencing discussion and noted prior revocations in the defendant’s history.

- Lintavious Strickland (24DCCR2440 and 25DCCR0209): The court followed plea agreements: for evading arrest with a vehicle (24DCCR2440) the judge accepted the agreement of a 10-year term in the institutional division but probated that 10-year sentence and ordered a $1,000 fine; for unauthorized use of a motor vehicle (25DCCR0209) the judge accepted a 2-year state-jail sentence but probated it and set probation at five years. The court added a condition that Strickland complete an in-custody cognitive-track ISF program.

- Lester Ballard (24DCCR1882): Ballard pleaded guilty to aggravated assault with a deadly weapon (count 1). Judge West accepted the plea and sentenced Ballard to three years in the institutional division of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice; the court made an affirmative deadly-weapon finding.

- Leon Melcore (21DCCR37269): Judge West accepted a guilty plea to unauthorized use of a vehicle and sentenced Melcore to 16 months in state jail; the court indicated credit would be given for applicable time already in custody.

- Evan Bowden (24DCCR0738 and 24DCCR1660): The court accepted guilty pleas in two separate evading-with-a-vehicle cases and sentenced Bowden to two years in the institutional division in each case; the judge ordered the two terms to run concurrently.

- Edrick Gross (cause number in the 21DCCR series): Gross entered pleas of true on multiple motion-to-revoke allegations; Judge West accepted the pleas and, under the plea agreement, sentenced him to 12 months in state jail and provided the usual admonishments on firearms and credit for time served.

- Corey Nye/Nee (23DCCR1240): The court accepted pleas of true to counts in a motion to revoke and, following the parties’ agreement, sentenced the defendant to 12 months in county jail under Texas Penal Code §12.44 (county jail sentence), with credit ordered for applicable time in custody.

Other docket activity included multiple requests for resets, trial-settings and plea-bargain rejections. The court repeatedly cautioned defendants that once a case is placed on the trial docket Judge West will not generally accept plea negotiations later; several defense attorneys sought reset dates to coordinate out-of-state witnesses or to obtain and review discovery.

The court routinely read and accepted written plea-bargain rejections and advisals (trial-court certifications) that waived appeal rights when the plea agreements required it. Judge West also flagged the need for probation reports or county pre-sentence investigations before pronouncing sentence in several matters and reset those sentencing hearings accordingly.

Ending: Judge West closed the morning docket after instructing counsel where follow-up filings and probation reports are required and advising defendants of the conditions of probation or the effect of their sentences, including firearm-ineligibility admonishments and credit-for-time-served calculations.