Judge Stephanie Boyd issues sentences, sets bonds and grants pleas in 187th District docket

Judge Stephanie Boyd presided over a full criminal docket that included guilty pleas, bond hearings and sentencing on multiple cases. Major outcomes included the court denying an application for deferred adjudication and imposing a 10-year sentence (suspended and probated) for Ulysses Gloria Benitez; a 6-year prison sentence for Matthew Charles Baggs after a finding of violation; a 15-month state-jail sentence for Charles Claycomb; and a grant of deferred adjudication with conditions for Jason Moore.

The docket matters because the decisions affect defendants’ custody status, program eligibility and, in some cases, immigration consequences and access to community-based supervision. Several decisions included conditions intended to address substance use, parenting or housing issues and imposed no-contact restrictions where family violence was alleged.

The court found Ulysses Gloria Benitez guilty after accepting a stipulation of evidence and denied his application for deferred adjudication. Judge Boyd sentenced Benitez to 10 years in prison, suspended and probated for 10 years, ordered a $2,000 fine to be probated, restitution to San Antonio Police Department for drug testing, and a prohibition on reentry to the United States as read into the record. Defense counsel Carlos Martinez confirmed the plea paperwork and the court recorded the immigration admonitions provided under Padilla before accepting the plea. The state’s requested conditions and the court’s sanctions were entered on the record.

In a separate matter, the court found Matthew Charles Baggs’s admission that he violated a protective-order-related condition “true,” accepted a negotiated resolution and sentenced Baggs to six years in prison. Judge Boyd also ordered no contact with the identified victim, Rosalyn (last name read into the record), and explained the limited right to appeal that remains following a revocation-and-adjudication ruling.

The court sentenced Charles Claycomb to 15 months in the state-jail facility after accepting exhibits and finding sufficient evidence; the court also recommended placement in a therapeutic community program where appropriate. In Claycomb’s hearing, the judge reviewed prior convictions and emphasized rehabilitation resources available during and after confinement.

Jason Moore applied for deferred adjudication and the court granted deferred adjudication for four years with conditions that included regular reporting, random drug testing, proof of employment within 30 days, field visits and referrals to behavioral-health services or the VA as appropriate. The record shows the court ordered several treatment-related conditions and community-service hours tied to completion of certain courses.

Bond and pretrial decisions included reinstated or newly set bond amounts and electronic-monitoring conditions. The court set bond for April Gonzales in two causes: $3,000 in cause 2021CR8068 and $15,000 in cause 2021CR8074, with GPS fee waivers ordered where noted. For Kavonta (Kavonta/Kavonta variant in the record) Thomas the court reinstated a $75,000 bond and ordered full GPS/house-arrest monitoring; the court noted the bondsman had filed an affidavit to surrender surety but ultimately kept the original security level after hearing from counsel and reviewing the new allegations.

Other docket items included multiple plea deadlines, resets for contested hearings, and administrative entries such as discovery disputes and requests for SANE/photo evidence in family-violence files. Several cases were continued for contested hearings or to allow the state and defense to confer about offers; in some matters the court required officers to be subpoenaed if requested evidence (for example, a cell-phone extraction) was not produced by a set date.

Judge Boyd explained the court’s approach to compliance and sentencing in more than one case, telling defendants that “When you violate court orders, that's a signal to the court that you're probably not gonna, abide by conditions of probation.” The judge used that reasoning where alleged violations related to protective orders or repeated bond infractions were at issue.

The court set multiple return dates and plea-deadline dates on the record; some hearings were continued for 10, 30 or 45 days so parties could complete discovery, procure additional filings or arrange victim impact statements. The docket included routine admonishments and review of plea paperwork required by statute and case law.