Court grants deferred adjudication to Andrew Garza in organized retail theft case

Judge Stephanie Boyd accepted a plea from Andrew Garza to a charge tied to organized retail theft and entered a deferred adjudication disposition with conditions recommended by the state and ordered by the court.

The court found that Garza knowingly and voluntarily waived his rights and that discovery had been provided; the plea stated a $500 fine and the state recommended deferred adjudication. After reviewing the state's stipulated exhibits, the court deferred finding of guilt and applied deferred adjudication rather than imposing an immediate sentence.

The court's conditions include a $500 fine (probated), no contact with Sam's Club, 100 hours of community-service restitution, proof of employment or Social Security documentation within 30 days, and a requirement that the defendant not work in home health care or with minors. The court ordered the defendant to complete a theft course (Katz theft course 1 and 2), to report regularly by Zoom or in person, and to submit to regular random urinalysis testing. The probation-term arrangement was set as three years of deferred adjudication with reporting and monitoring requirements.

Defense counsel told the court that Garza is disabled and not working; counsel asked the court to consider waiving or holding fines and community service but the court imposed the standard supervised conditions listed above. The court also set a field visit by probation to verify employment and to assess compliance.

After the court accepted the stipulations and deferred the finding, the matter was set for standard probation supervision and compliance monitoring under the court's terms.