A Brazos County district court jury took one hour to find 34 year old Ricky Hernandez guilty of injury to a child.
Before the sentencing phase of the trial started, Hernandez and the district attorney’s office reached a plea agreement covering punishment in the trial, admitting to the stabbing, and agreeing to punishment in the stabbing.
One of the prosecutors tells WTAW News that the victims were satisfied with the 12 year sentence that covers both incidents and Hernandez waiving his right to appeal the trial verdict.
News release from the Brazos County district attorney’s office:
On Friday, August 23, 2024, Ricky Hernandez, of Bryan, was sentenced to the maximum of 10 years in prison for Injury to a Child and 12 years in prison for two counts of Aggravated Assault with a Deadly Weapon. The maximum sentence for the child abuse is ten years in prison, while the maximum for Aggravated Assault is 20 years in prison. The defendant was eligible for probation because of a lack of prior criminal history.
On April 3, 2022, Bryan Police were dispatched after the defendant’s ten year-old daughter called 911 to report that the defendant had attacked her. Police met with the victim and found her with multiple visible injuries to her face from being punched by the defendant. The defendant was intoxicated and became angry when his daughter refused to give him a hug. He then punched her in the face and threw her across the room. The victim escaped by breaking a window, running to neighbors, and calling the police.
At the time of the Injury to a Child offense, the defendant was on bond for Aggravated Assault with a Deadly Weapon out of College Station. 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. Both victims had sustained stab wounds to their chest area.
Detective Michael Kennedy with the College Station Police Department led the investigation. Officers on scene interviewed multiple people who reported that the assault started with a verbal altercation inside the bar between one of the victims and members of the Defendant’s family. Once outside the bar, the argument escalated into a physical altercation between the victims and the Defendant. Cell phone video from bystanders revealed that the Defendant began the physical altercation outside the bar and stabbed both victims. The defendant fled prior to law enforcement arrival.
Statement from Brazos County assistant district attorneys Jessica Escue and Gretchen Helmuth: “The Defendant repeatedly chose to respond with violence towards individuals who were no threat to him. This punishment sends a message that this behavior will not be tolerated in Brazos County.”