Scott Alexander StewartLUFKIN, TX (KTRE) -
After
being acquitted of aggravated robbery, a 40-year-old Lufkin man pleaded guilty
to a lesser charge of aggravated assault in connection to a March 2011 incident
in which he pulled a knife on his friend and attempted to rob him for more rent
money.
Judge
Barry Bryan of the 217th Judicial District Court sentenced Scott Alexander
Stewart to 11 years in prison for the aggravated assault charge. In addition,
Bryan ordered that Stewart must receive mental health evaluations and treatment
while he is in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice system.
In
September, a district judge allowed Scott to be evaluated by a mental health
expert to see if he was sane at the time of the crime. At the hearing,
prosecuting attorney Dale Summa argued that Stewart had already been ruled
competent to stand trial.
Stewart
was letting a friend stay at his house for $20, according to police reports.
The friend said that Stewart was getting high on crack cocaine and decided that
he wanted $40 more for the rent.
Lufkin
Police officers responded to a house in the 400 block of E. Laurel Ave. in
response to a report of an assault. Stewart pulled a knife on the victim and
pushed the man off the porch of the house when he wouldn't give Stewart more
money, according to police reports. Then Stewart refused to let his friend have
his bicycle back.
When the
LPD officers arrived at the scene, they tried to take Stewart into custody.
However, according to police reports, he refused to let them in the house and
would open the door at times to yell at the officers.
Officers
then began shooting pepper balls into the house, prompting Stewart to open the
door and surrender to the police.
During
the hearing in September, Summa explained that a defendant can be ruled insane at
the time of the crime if he or she can prove he or she was suffering from a
mental health problem. He also said that willingly being high on drugs does not
make someone legally insane.
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