January 30, 2024
By: Dwayne Page
A Smithville man charged with statutory rape for allegedly having sex with a 16-year-old girl was in DeKalb County Criminal Court Monday, January 29.
24-year-old Guadalupe Franz Aguilar-Estrada entered a guilty plea to the charge and received a two-year sentence all suspended to TDOC probation with credit for time served. He was incarcerated for 114 days from October 6, 2023 to January 29, 2024.
Sheriff Patrick Ray said that Aguilar allegedly committed the offense on August 5, 2023.
The case was investigated by a sheriff’s department detective.
57-year-old Mario Castandeda Garcia entered a plea to a 2nd offense of driving under the influence and received a sentence of 11 months and 29 days all suspended to CPS probation except for 45 days to serve. The jail sentence may be served in a DUI center and rehab. He was fined $600.
22-year-old Christopher Edward Murphy-Spoon, Jr. entered a plea by criminal information to possession of a schedule II drug (methamphetamine under 0.5 grams for sale) and aggravated assault. He received a total sentence of six years all suspended to supervised probation. He was fined $2,000 in the drug case and was ordered to make restitution of $40,000 to the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Department in the assault case jointly and severally with two co-defendants. Spoon was given jail credit of 117 days. The six-year sentence in the meth case and the three-year term in the assault case are to run concurrently with each other and with a Warren County case against him.
Sheriff Ray said that on October 4, 2023 a deputy conducted a traffic stop on a red Nissan Altima for failure to maintain its lane of travel and spoke with the driver, Spoon. A background check through central dispatch confirmed that Spoon’s license was suspended. The officer then conducted a search of the vehicle and found 1.5 grams of a green leafy substance believed to be marijuana along with 19 clear baggies and a scale with weights and 3.7 grams of a white powdery substance thought to be methamphetamine. Spoon also had in his possession a .25 caliber handgun with three bullets in the magazine. As a convicted felon, Spoon is to carry no weapons.
Meanwhile an attack on a fellow inmate at the jail sixteen days later resulted in an aggravated assault charge against Spoon.
Sheriff Ray said that on October 20, both Spoon and 24-year-old Gabriel James Hesson assaulted another male inmate at the jail by hitting him in the face several times with a closed fist. The fight was caught on video surveillance and officers responded to the cell to stop it. The video showed both Hesson and Spoon delivering the blows causing the victim to suffer broken bones, abrasions and facial swelling. The case against Hesson apparently remains pending in court.
35-year-old Timothy William Patrick entered a plea to possession of a schedule II drug (methamphetamine over 0.5 grams for sale) and received an eight-year sentence as a range I offender. A sentencing hearing will be held to determine the manner of service. He has been given jail credit of 405 days.
Sheriff Ray said that on December 20, 2022 a deputy conducted a traffic stop on a white Chevy Caprice for suspended registration and spoke with both the driver, 30-year-old Tavisha Juanita Hall and her passenger, Patrick. After obtaining permission to search, the officer found a small vial of a crystal-like substance inside a flashlight under the center console of the vehicle believed to be methamphetamine. The two were charged at the time with possession of methamphetamine with intent to manufacture, sell, or deliver and cited for possession of drug paraphernalia after a scale was found next to the methamphetamine. The case against Hall apparently remains pending in court.
56-year-old Bradley John Baker entered a plea to the attempted sale of a schedule II drug (methamphetamine). He received a sentence of four years all suspended to TDOC probation and was fined $2,000. The sentence is to run concurrently with another case against him and he is to receive jail credit of five days. The indictment alleges that on or about January 20, 2023 Baker allegedly unlawfully and knowingly sold a schedule II-controlled substance (methamphetamine) in an amount over 0.5 grams. This case was investigated by the Smithville Police Department.