The trial judge then sentenced 45 year old Frank Hernandez III to 40 years in prison.
The district attorney’s office says Hernandez’s brother faces a trial for stabbing the same person and a second customer.
The stabbings followed an argument inside the bar involving the victims and Hernandez’s brother.
Prosecutors said Hernandez stabbed the one victim multiple times while the victim laid on the ground.
Online records show Hernandez is also waiting a second trial on a charge of family violence assault that took place in August 2018.
News release from the Brazos County district attorney’s office:
On December 8, 2023, Judge David Hilburn sentenced Frank Hernandez, III to 40 years in prison for Aggravated Assault with a Deadly Weapon. Hernandez’s conviction follows the 361st jury’s verdict on Tuesday afternoon.
On February 19, 2022, College Station Police were dispatched to a local bar in response to calls regarding a stabbing in progress. Shortly thereafter, the police were notified that two victims with stab wounds had been taken to Baylor Scott and White Hospital. Doctors and medical staff desperately worked to save both victims’ lives. Both victims had sustained stab wounds to their chest area.
Detective Michael Kennedy with the College Station Police Department lead the investigation. Officers on scene interviewed multiple people who reported that one of the victims had been in a verbal altercation with the defendant inside the bar prior to the stabbing. Witnesses on scene reported that the argument outside the bar escalated into a physical altercation between the victims and the defendant’s brother. Cell phone video from bystanders revealed that the defendant’s brother began the physical altercation and stabbed both victims. Cell phone video also showed that at the time the defendant walked out of the bar, one of the victims was on the ground being beaten by the defendant’s brother. The defendant then came up to the victim and stabbed him multiple times while the victim laid on the ground. Horrified onlookers reported to the police that the defendant then chased the victims through the parking lot and challenged onlookers. The defendant fled prior to law enforcement arrival.
While on the run from the Aggravated Assault charge, the defendant was arrested in Bexar County after the defendant was driving the wrong way on the highway. Deputies found the defend-ant high on cocaine and arrested him for possession of a controlled substance and the Brazos County warrant.
Prosecutors presented evidence during the punishment phase of trial that the defendant previously had been convicted multiple times for domestic violence offenses. In each of these cases, the victims suffered extensive visible injuries which required hospital care. The court also heard that the Defendant had previously threatened two innocent bystanders who called the police and intervened to prevent the defendant from assaulting these women.
Finally, prosecutors presented evidence that the defendant previously was sentenced for federal drug charges after he repeatedly sold undercover officers with the Department of Public Safety large amounts of cocaine.
The defendant’s brother currently has pending charges in the 361st District Court related to the stabbing.
Statement from assistant district attorneys Jessica Escue, Gretchen Helmuth, and Brian Baker: “When violence is the way a defendant deals with the world, pris-on is the only place for them. The defendant is finally where he cannot hurt any more members of our community.”