Contributed to The 830 Times by Suzanne West
District Attorney
Val Verde, Kinney and Terrell Counties
On Sept. 2, 2022, Del Rio resident Kelvin James Brown was found guilty of arson in a habitation.
83rd Judicial District Judge Robert E. Cadena heard the case, and after a one-half day bench trial, found Brown guilty. The offense against Brown stems from a rioting incident in the GEO Correctional Facility in Del Rio. Brown participated in the riot by lighting a bag of garbage on fire.
Other inmates physically attacked jailers with a television, tablets and other items in their housing unit.
After the rendering of a verdict in the case, the judge reset the matter for sentencing and for the preparation of a pre-sentence report by the 63rd/83rd Judicial District Community Supervision and Corrections Department.
On Oct. 7, 2022, the case was recalled for sentencing. After testimony from witnesses and arguments by counsel representing the state and the defendant, Cadena sentenced the defendant to 50 years in the Institutional Division of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.
The sentence was ordered to begin after the defendant serves an existing seven-year sentence for manslaughter, to which Brown pleaded guilty in July 2021. Supporting rationale behind the 50-year sentence, Cadena highlighted Brown’s extensive criminal history and disciplinary record in the GEO facility awaiting trial.
Assistant District Attorney Jessica Shawver-Savino served as lead prosecutor with the assistance of District Attorney Suzanne West and District Attorney Investigator Larry Pope.
When asked about the trial and its outcome, Shawver-Savino said, “I would like to extend my gratitude to the Val Verde County Sheriff’s Office for their tireless work to ensure justice for our community in the case of Kelvin James Brown. I am also grateful for the work of our 63rd/83rd Community Supervision and Corrections Department for their preparation of the pre-sentence report in this case. Our community is safer because of this 50-year sentence handed down by Judge Cadena, and we can all breathe easier knowing justice has been done.”
