Judge oversees long criminal docket, denies motion to quash and issues sentences and deadlines

A judge at the 187th District Court presided over a lengthy criminal docket that included denial of a motion to quash, multiple case resets and several plea and sentencing rulings.

During the morning session the court called numerous cases and confirmed appearances. In State v. Pierce Pearson, the judge reviewed written case law and denied the defense motion to quash indictments, then set a jury‑trial date and a plea‑deadline date; the court estimated a multi‑day trial if the matter is not resolved beforehand.

The court then turned to sentencing matters. In 2025CR012282, following argument from the prosecution and defense, the judge found the defendant guilty under the parties’ stipulations and granted probation under a suspended nine‑year cap. The court imposed an eight‑year probation term with conditions that include proof of employment within 45 days, random drug testing, 200 hours of community‑service restitution (150 hours may be satisfied by completion of the MRT program, with remaining hours reducible for sober‑support meetings), a $1,200 fine, and specific residency and employment restrictions, including a prohibition on residing with Samuel Rivas after June 22 and no employment as a home‑health provider or work involving minors. The judge explained the sentence as a weighing of the defendant’s prior revocations against a long intervening period without recent convictions. (Prosecutor argued the defendant’s prior pattern of revoked probations supported denial of community supervision; defense highlighted roughly 20 years without similar convictions and urged probation.)

In 2026CR001031, Michael Anthony Castillo pleaded guilty to an assault with a deadly weapon. The court accepted the plea and placed Castillo on deferred adjudication for six years with regular reporting (by Zoom or in person), random UAs, a referral to the therapeutic community/SADF and felony drug court, 200 hours of community service (with partial reductions for completion of parenting and anger‑management courses and sober‑support meetings), and an affirmative finding of family violence and deadly weapon. The court ordered no unsupervised contact with minors and required proof of employment within 45 days of release from custody.

The docket also included numerous scheduling and procedural matters: motions to substitute counsel were addressed, plea‑deadline dates and jury settings were calendared (including a May 21 date for one jury trial), requests for interpreter availability and sanity evaluations were set for follow‑up, and the court set multiple reset dates for discovery and PSI/TAP evaluations. The judge recessed the docket at noon and instructed parties to return on the reset dates announced from the bench.

What the court did not do: no omnibus public‑policy decisions were made; the session focused on individual case management, pleas and typical sentencing conditions. The court repeatedly emphasized that stipulations and the record controlled outcomes and reminded defendants about the collateral immigration and firearm‑possession consequences tied to felony pleas.

The court’s next calendar and the specific dates for individual cases were announced from the bench during the hearing; parties were told to check the record for the precise reset and trial dates and to file any outstanding motions in advance of those settings.