Alex Avila sentenced to seven years after court finds him guilty of aggravated robbery

The 187th District Court found Alex Avila guilty of aggravated robbery and sentenced him to seven years in prison, a $2,000 fine and concurrent terms on related causes. Judge Stephanie Boyd made an affirmative finding of a deadly weapon and recommended placement in a therapeutic community as part of the sentence.

The hearing included extended mitigation testimony from Marisol Morales, a licensed master social worker, who testified she conducted a 20-hour assessment of Avila over several months and placed his future risk “lower” because of protective factors including family support and school involvement. Morales told the court Avila arrived from Mexico at age 16, had been an average student, and “has protective factors that help mitigate those risk factors.” Defense counsel urged the court to consider Avila’s youth (he was 17 at the time of the offenses), family support, and expressions of remorse.

The state emphasized the repeated, violent nature of the offenses and submitted victim-impact and stipulation evidence. During argument the judge noted the seriousness of three separate aggravated robbery incidents and the defendant’s participation in each. After weighing mitigation and aggravating factors — including that the defendant had been counting stolen proceeds after one incident — the court stated it would find Avila guilty and imposed the sentence.

The court also addressed collateral consequences: the defendant waived appeal rights consistent with a plea/stipulation procedure, and the judge admonished Avila about prison education programs and urged him to complete vocational or rehabilitation programming while incarcerated.

The court record shows that the sentence will run concurrent across case numbers, with credit for time served, and the court added a $2,000 fine. Defense counsel asked for probation; the court declined and imposed the seven-year term with the therapeutic-community recommendation.