A Brazos County district court jury finds a Hearne man guilty of continuous violation of a domestic violence protection order and hitting a Bryan police officer multiple times in the face.
Following last week's jury verdict for the crimes that happened in April of 2023, the trial judge sentenced 39 year old Jermaine Harris to a maximum 20 years in prison for assaulting the officer.
The judge also sentenced Harris to ten years for violating the protection order.
That punishment will be served at the same time as the assault.
News release from the Brazos County district attorney's office:
On November 13, 2024, Judge John Brick sentenced Jermaine Harris to twenty years in prison for Assault on a Peace Officer and the maximum 10 years in prison for violating his probation for Continuous Violation of a Protective Order. Brick's sentence came after the 361st jury convicted the defendant of the offense on Tuesday afternoon.
On March 28, 2023, officers with the Bryan Police Department responded to a call from the defendant's ex-girlfriend, stating that the defendant came over to her home uninvited and refused to leave. Officers contacted the defendant and told him that he needed to leave. The defendant responded by yelling obscenities and making sexually explicit comments to a female officer. Officers removed the defendant from the home, completed a criminal trespass warning, and told the defendant that if he returned he would be arrested.
Just after 4am on April 1, 2023, Bryan Police Officer Jose Gallardo responded to another call from the defendant's ex girlfriend, reporting that the defendant had returned and was knocking on her windows and doors. Officer Gallardo arrived and spoke with the defendant, reminding him of the criminal trespass warning. The defendant responded to Gallardo's investigation by acting aggressively and disregarding officer instructions.
When Officer Gallardo attempted to arrest the defendant, a struggle ensued. During the struggle, the defendant ran from Officer Gallardo into the home and placed a young child in front of him in an effort to avoid arrest. When this was unsuccessful, the Defendant struck the officer in the face multiple times.
At the time of the assault, the defendant was on probation for Continuous Violation of a Protective Order. Evidence during the punishment phase established that the defendant failed to report to probation after he absconded from the drug rehabilitation program ordered by the court as part of his probation. The evidence in the punishment phase also showed that the defendant had previously been sentenced to prison for Burglary of a Habitation.
Statement from assistant district attorneys Mark Stahman and Jessica Escue: "Officers place themselves in dangerous positions everyday in an effort to protect and serve the public. This verdict sends a message that our office and our courts will protect and serve them when they are intentionally injured."