Dateline: January 30, 2003

Messer reports 81 sent to prison in 2002

By Roger Estlack, Clarendon Enterprise

District Attorney Stuart Messer this week filed his annual report on the activities of his office for the year ending December 31, 2002.

Eighty-one people were sent to prison from the 100th Judicial District for a combined total of 630 years. Twenty-nine of those were convicted of first or second degree felonies.

Eighteen persons were convicted of felony driving while intoxicated charges and were imprisoned for an average term of seven years. In addition, 209 other people were placed on probation for a variety of crimes. Many of the probated sentences were conditioned on the defendant completing intensive residential substance abuse and anger management programs offered by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.

Fines assessed by District Court Judge David McCoy for the year totaled $245,200. Defendants were ordered to pay a total of $67,616.75 in court costs to the counties, and restitution of $73,506.08 was ordered to be paid to victims across the district.

Locally, 15 people were sent to prison for crimes committed in Donley County. Those crimes ranged from aggravated assault to attempted murder to sexual assault of a child.

District Attorney Stuart Messer said local cooperation was a great help to his office.

“The prosecution of crimes committed in Donley County is made so much easier for me because of the terrific cooperation I receive from the sheriff’s department, the local office of the Department of Public Safety, and all other law enforcement officials involved in any given case.

“It also helps to know there are good citizens in Donley County who are willing to step up to the plate and do their civic duty in serving as jurors. Without good jurors, the criminal justice system does not work.”

The 100th Judicial District includes Carson, Childress, Collingsworth, Donley, and Hall counties.