LUFKIN, TX (KTRE) -
During a
plea hearing Thursday, the third co-defendant in the Feb. 7, 2012 murder of
Darnell Bennett, pleaded guilty to two lesser charges - aggravated robbery and
tampering with evidence. Judge Paul White of the 159th Judicial District Court sentenced
him to 25 years in prison.
Osvaldo
Hernandez, 19, of Lufkin, is still being held in the Angelina County Jail.
Prior to Thursday's hearing his bond had been set at $500,000.
"Hernandez
pleaded guilty to lesser charges," Katrina Carswell, the prosecuting attorney
on the case, said. "The judge sentenced him to 25 years for the aggravated
robbery charge and 10 years for the tampering with physical evidence."
Carswell
explained that Hernandez's two sentences will be concurrent, which means he
will serve them at the same time. She said if Hernandez hadn't decided to go
the plea hearing route, he would have had a jury trial, and the District
Attorney's Office could very well have tried him for capital murder like they
did with the first two co-defendants in the case.
"Officers
never alleged the tampering with physical evidence charge because it was just a
first-degree felony," Carswell said. "We filed the tampering charge because the
evidence showed that Hernandez obtained a rifle before he and the other
suspects went to Bennett's house, and he got rid of it at some point."
Carswell
said the rifle Hernandez took to Bennett's house still hasn't been recovered by
law enforcement officials.
Last February, Orta and
four other suspects were arrested in connection to Bennett's murder. Lufkin
Police detectives believe that the five men went to Bennett's house hoping to
rob him of marijuana.
On Dec. 12, an Angelina
County jury found Rafael Orta guilty of capital murder for his role in Bennett's
death. Because the state didn't opt to pursue the death penalty, it meant that
he received an automatic life sentence.
During the trial,
Carswell told jurors that because Orta was an active participant in the plan to
rob Bennett, he was an accomplice to his murder. Defense attorney Jerry Whiteker
said the five men involved didn't think anyone would get hurt; they were simply
trying to get some marijuana and maybe some cash.
One of the other suspects, Jacob Woodard, admitted to shooting Bennett. In
early November, an Angelina County jury found Woodard guilty of capital murder
and sentenced him to life in prison.
The other co-defendants in the case include: Jesus Vela, Osvaldo and Gerardo
Renteria. They will be tried at a later date.
Copyright 2012 KTRE. All rights reserved.
Osvaldo Hernandez (Source: Angelina County Jail)
