D.A. Doug Lowe Appears on KLTV News to Discuss "Hot Check Roundup"

Defendant Sentenced to Six Years for Aggravated Assault

A jury found Jonathon Bradley Lynch guilty of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon on February 17, 2011, after deliberating for an hour and fifteen minutes. Assistant District Attorney Scott Holden represented the State.

Witnesses for the State painted a picture of the brutal assault which took place on October 31, 2007, in the early hours of the morning. The defendant picked up the victim in his car around midnight, and drove her out to a deserted stretch of road just outside of the Palestine city limits. There he took her from the car at knifepoint, forced her to remove her clothes and methodically beat her with a baseball bat. The motive-the victim owed him twenty dollars. “He wanted to send a message,” one witness observed. After the assault, the defendant left the victim on the side of the road with only a jacket. The victim took the stand during the State’s case in chief and tearfully described walking barefoot and nearly naked towards a dim light in the distance, not knowing if she had the strength make it, and not knowing if she would find help if she did. The victim told the jury, “I started praying to God for the strength to take one more step. After each step, I would pray for the strength to take another. Finally I couldn’t walk anymore. I had to crawl.” The defendant managed to reach the farmhouse and found an elderly couple who took her in, gave her clothes and called an ambulance.

The defense admitted that the defendant had a relationship with the victim, but denied that the defendant had assaulted her. In closing, the defense alleged that the defendant had ended the relationship and the victim decided to blame the assault on the defendant in retaliation. However, Assistant DA Holden pointed out that the victim had never waivered in her story. Bruised, bloody and tearful, the victim told law enforcement on October 31, 2007 that Jonathon Lynch had assaulted her.  Healed, but no less tearful, the victim told the jury on February 16, 2011 that Jonathon Lynch had assaulted her.

After forty-five minutes of deliberation, the jury sentenced Jonathon Lynch to six years in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Assistant DA Holden said, “This is a victory for the citizens of Anderson County. It doesn’t matter who you are, if a crime is committed against you the perpetrator will pay.”

Crime Does Pay...For More Law Enforcement

Federal and state laws provide that any property used in the commission of a crime or which are proceeds from criminal activity may be seized. Twenty-five percent of the proceeds from the sale of such property go to the district attorney’s office and seventy-five percent go to the seizing law enforcement agency. Assistant Criminal District Attorney Karla Hardy has resurrected the asset forfeiture program in Anderson County, collecting $29,822.00 since the start of the year. “There is a real need for this kind of prosecution,” says Ms. Hardy. “Ultimately this money will go to make the county a safer place.”

Case Number	Resolution	Cash	Car	Other
3-40593	Non-suit
3-40891	Default Judgments	$     525.00	1999 Cadillac
3-41156	Default Judgment	$     601.00
3-41157	Default Judgment	$     511.00
369-08-3759	Default Judgment		1987 Chevy Truck
369-09-3894	Settlement	$13,000.00
369-09-4028	Settlement	$  7,945.00
369-10-4209	Default Judgment	$  6,809.00
369-10-4241	Default Judgment	$     431.00	2000 Toyota Camry
	Subtotal	$29,822.00
	DA's Office	$  7,455.50

Court Awards Thirty-Eight Dogs to State

On Friday January 21, 2011, Judge Gary D. Thomas ruled that defendant Robert Kyle Bartz had cruelly treated forty-two dogs, and ordered them into the care of the state. Assistant District Attorneys Trevor Theilen and Kristin M. Kaye represented Anderson county in the civil hearing. 

The evidence against the defendant included approximately forty pictures which depicted animals kept in appalling conditions, some held by chains only a few feet long. Many of the animals were held in small pens with no protection from the elements and no way to escape standing in their own feces. 

Robert Kyle Bartz, 62, of Palestine was arrested and charged with cruelty to non-livestock animals Friday January 14, 2011 as authorities served a warrant to all the dogs at his residence in the 700 block of CR 199 off of U.S. 84, east of Palestine. 

Animal Control Deputy Michele Defore began investigating the case Jan. 9 after receiving an anonymous call that conditions at the property were deplorable. At the hearing, Deputy Defore testified the defendant admitted that he owned the dogs and that he claimed used to show them and use them in hog trials. Defore also testified temperatures in the preceding days had plummeted into the 20’s, and that the animals had no shelter or any way to keep warm. Several of the puppies removed from the property later sickened and died from a preventable disease. 

The defendant took the stand in his own defense and testified that he sold many of the puppies for profit. The defendant admitted he had too many dogs but also stated that he would not consider spaying or neutering his animals to prevent unwanted litters. Fourteen of the dogs seized were described as “puppies” by the sheriff. The defendant tearfully told the court, “I love those dogs. I don’t consider myself a man who would ever be cruel to an animal” The defendant also stated that, “In life we have to make choices. I know I can’t have them all back. I have a list of about fourteen that I would like back. Eight of them are puppies I wouldn’t even keep, I would sell them.” 

In closing argument, Assistant District Attorney Kristin M. Kaye observed that it was telling what choices the defendant had made. All the animals the defendant requested back were purebred animals worth money and puppies he intended to sell for profit. 

Anderson County Justice of the Peace Gary Thomas awarded the animals to the county as well as $3461.49 to cover the care of the animals. Breeds seized included Catahoulas, Curs, two pit bulls and other “mixed” dogs. The dogs are currently being housed at the Anderson County Humane Society and are available for adoption to loving homes.

Jury sentences man to 5 years for Evading Arrest

After a short deliberation period, 12 jurors found Mr. Robbie Alonzo Dudley guilty of Evading Arrest/Detention with Vehicle with Previous Conviction on Wednesday, January 19, 2011 at 3:00pm. The jurors also found that Mr. Dudley used a deadly weapon by driving dangerously in his speeding car. After hearing punishment evidence, the jury sentenced Mr. Dudley to five years in prison.   

The high speed chase began on December 8, 2010 at 11:00pm. Officers Allen and Berrymoore were on patrol when they saw Mr. Dudley run a stop sign. The officers gave chase, but Mr. Dudley refused to stop. After weaving dangerously in and out of traffic and running a red light, Mr. Dudley’s car finally came to a stop when it collided with a white van in the intersection of South Loop 256 and South Sycamore. One of the passengers in the van was injured and taken to the hospital for treatment. Mr. Dudley then jumped out of the car and tried to flee on foot.  The black truck driven by Mr. Dudley continued to roll forward because Mr. Dudley never put it into park.  No bystanders were injured by the rolling vehicle.  The officers apprehended Mr. Dudley, and he was arrested and taken to the Anderson County Jail.

At trial, Mr. Dudley’s attorney, Larry Coker, argued that Mr. Dudley was fleeing because he heard the sound of gunshots and thought that they were aimed at him.  Assistant District Attorney Stanley Sokolowski offered a different, and ultimately more persuasive, explanation.

“If you really thought someone was shooting at you, I would think the first person you’d run to would be a cop,” he said during closing argument. “He fled over two miles before he was finally caught.”

The evidence against Mr. Dudley showed that he had no driver’s license or insurance at the time of the chase, and that he had prior criminal convictions, include two for Evading Arrest.  

During the punishment hearing, evidence of those previous convictions was admitted against Mr. Dudley.  After deliberating for less that an hour, the jury handed down a sentence of five years in TDCJ.

Judge Bascom Bentley presided over the trial.