Lufkin man gets 20 years after woman describes night of abuse, assault

LUFKIN, Texas (KTRE) -A Lufkin jury found a man guilty of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and sexual assault during a jury trial on Wednesday.

According to the office of District Attorney Amy Wren, Burt Duron Scruggs, 50 of Lufkin, was found guilty following a jury trial in the 217th Judicial District Court. The jury decided Scruggs’ punishment and sentenced him to 20 years in the institutional division of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice on October 29.

Wren said that a woman testified that in June 2020 Scruggs went inside her home, taking her in with him, and began assaulting her. She said she was beaten, strangled and sexually assaulted by Scruggs. When she finally escaped, she ran to a neighbor’s house and asked for help. They brought her inside and called police.

The victim testified that she was so violently assaulted that night that she asked Scruggs to “Just let (her) die.”

Several other victims of Scruggs also appeared in court and testified to his having done similar things to them in the past. One victim testified that she was sorry that she didn’t report what he had done to her and that other women had to go through it, as a result.

Twenty years is the maximum sentence allowed by law for aggravated assault and sexual assault, Wren said. The law requires that the two sentences run concurrently, because the offenses were committed during the same criminal episode.

The jury was unable to come to a unanimous decision on a charge of aggravated kidnapping.

This case was prosecuted by District Attorney Amy Wren with the assistance of Lufkin Police Department and the Family Crisis Center of East Texas.