Two dates in Brazos County District Court have been called off, while negotiations continue regarding the future of a restaurant in Northgate. On December 2nd, the operators of Cafe Eccell received a temporary restraining order preventing the city of College Station from selling the former city hall, which they have been leasing, to a Houston developer. Two court hearings were cancelled and the 14 day restraining order has expired without the restaurant operators asking for an extension. Talks continue outside the courthouse in an attempt for Cafe Eccell to be a part of the $25 million dollar development.
In recent criminal cases from district court, a Bryan man was sent to prison for violating terms of his probation from his third drunk driving conviction. 50 year old Lawrence Gargano was originally sentenced in March to ten years. Prosecutors say Gargano was arrested again for DWI in August. And during the summer he told his probation officer he was drinking up to six to eight beers at a time, several times a week.
A Bryan man received the maximum punishment for illegal dog fighting and selling cocaine. Prosecutors say 35 year old Gregory Chambers was arrested in February of last year for selling cocaine to a police informant. Evidence collected during the arrest included a cell phone that had multiple videos of dogs fighting dogs and dogs attacking pigs. Officers also found two chained pit bulls, and in the yard discovered remains of dogs that had been killed. Chambers was given two years for animal cruelty and 18 years for delivery of a controlled substance.
And it’s 20 years in prison for a Navasota man, 34 year old Damon Baker, who was convicted by a Brazos County jury this month for possessing PCP. Prosecutors say evidence during sentencing before the judge included a previous conviction for threatening to kill a Grimes County jail officer, violent acts while being held in the Brazos County jail, and threatening to hurt his former girlfriend and her children.
