ROCKWALL – A Rockwall County jury convicted a Rockwall ex-con who beat up his 77-year-old grandmother of a third degree enhanced felony offense of Injury to an Elderly Person Dec. 7 and sentenced him to fifteen years in the Texas State penitentiary. Jeffrey Shane Swartz, 36, who had moved in with his grandmother in Rockwall [...]

ROCKWALL – A Rockwall County jury returned guilty verdicts against a Dallas resident yesterday on third-degree enhanced charges of Burglary of a Building for his role in break-ins in Rockwall and Royse City. Mario Terrell Martin, 24, was subsequently sentenced by 382nd District Judge Brett Hall to two maximum and concurrent sentences of ten years. [...]

ROCKWALL – Rockwall attorney and twice-elected former Dallas County Criminal Court Judge Jim Pruitt, who was instrumental in creating the first dedicated domestic violence court in Dallas, has announced his candidacy for the Republican nomination for the new District 33 seat in the Texas House of Representatives. Pruitt, 55, who was elected Judge of Dallas [...]

ROCKWALL – After deliberating for less than one hour April 20, a Rockwall County jury sentenced a Hidalgo County man to ninety-nine years in prison and maximum fine of $250,000 on the charge of Possession with Intent to Deliver Cocaine over 400 grams. Mario Alberto Salazar, 37, received the maximum sentence, according to Rockwall County [...]

A Rockwall County grand jury will be used by the Texas Attorney General’s office to investigate allegations of voter fraud in Dallas County during last March’s Democratic Primary Election. Republican Attorney General Greg Abbott’s investigation is centering on mail-in ballots cast. Although it is unusual for state investigators to bypass the district attorney’s office of [...]

By J.J. Smith. A Royse City man was sentenced to three consecutive life terms in prison Sept. 13 on charges of continuous sexual abuse of three young girls that he and his wife had been babysitting between Sept. 2008 and Aug. 2009. Tommy Lynn Stewart, 50, was sentenced by a Rockwall County jury which took [...]

By J.J. Smith. The Mesquite man who attempted to kidnap a female first grade student from Pullen Elementary School March 4th was sentenced to the maximum of 10 years in prison and a $10,000 fine yesterday by 382nd District Court Judge Brett Hall in Rockwall. Desi Smalley, 36, a Mesquite resident, had first pled guilty [...]

By J.J. Smith. Convicted former City of Fate Secretary Sandra Lobban can use her retirement funds that the City paid her during her 20 years in that position to repay all or a portion of the $7,165.58 she stole and has now been sentenced to repay. In other words, she can repay what she stole [...]

By J.J. Smith. A Rockwall County jury returned a verdict in less than 30 minutes last week on charges of Driving While Intoxicated and Aggravated Assault with a Deadly Weapon against a man who had been convicted of five previous DWIs and is currently out on bond in two other DWI cases in counties other [...]

By J.J. Smith. Drug-related crimes made up 33 percent of felonies and 23 percent of misdemeanors committed across Rockwall County in 2008 revealed Rockwall County Criminal District Attorney Kenda Culpepper in several presentations across the area during the past few weeks. DWIs (Drinking While Driving) also accounted for 23 percent of misdemeanors. The next highest percentage of fel