District Attorney Michael Murray says that on Tuesday morning, Leonard Ray Robertson waived a jury as jury selection was about to begin in his trial for the offenses of Delivery of a Controlled substance. Robertson elected to have a trial before Judge Frank Griffin, who was sitting as the 35th Judicial District Judge.
The State put on evidence of two controlled transactions where Robertson sold methamphetamine to a cooperating individual. The transitions were video and audio recorded and played for the court during the trial. During one of the transactions, an undercover officer rode along with the cooperating individual to the defendant’s home near May where the transaction took place. The other controlled buy took place on a rural county road near May.
Judge Griffin found Robertson guilty of both deliveries and proceeded to the punishment phase. During punishment, District Attorney Murray offered evidence that Robertson had been to the pen on four prior felony drug convictions. Evidence also showed that at the time of the deliveries in March of 2009, Robertson was on parole.
Robertson testified at punishment and admitted his priors. Robertson asked the Court for mercy citing that he had recently found a girlfriend that gave him an incentive to straighten out his life. However, the woman was depicted along with two small children as being present during one of the drug transaction caught on video.
Robertson admitted under cross-examination by Murray that he deserved a life sentence. Judge Griffin assessed Robertson’s sentence at life in prison on one case and two years in the state jail on the other case. The sentences were the maximum allowed by law and the sentences will run concurrently.
The cases were made by detectives Bruce Spruill and Shawn Dibrell of the Brownwood Police Department and Early Police Department, respectively.
