Another Nueces County jury convicted him of DWI in December 1999.
A Fort Bend jury convicted him of intoxication assault with a motor vehicle in November 2000.
He was sentenced to five years in prison in connection with that case but only served two before being released.
A Hidalgo County jury convicted him of DWI in December 2007.
A Duval County grand jury has indicted him on a charge of DWI. That case is still pending.
Cox was arrested in Bee County in March 2008 and charged with DWI.
A Bee County district judge sentenced him to 10 years probation in connection with that case on Tuesday.
Judge Janna Whatley also fined Cox $1,500.
As a condition of his community supervision, Cox will have to install a device on his vehicle that will prevent it from starting if it detects alcohol on his breath.
District Attorney Martha Warner wanted Whatley to sentence Cox to prison.
She noted that Cox had been on probation and parole before but continued to drink alcohol and drive, which landed him in front of Judge Whatley’s bench.
Cox’s attorney, Joel Thomas, asked Whatley to sentence his client to an in-patient drug and alcohol counseling center, preferably Charlie’s Place in Corpus Christi.
Cox, 46, said he wanted to go to Charlie’s Place because he wanted to be treated for his alcohol addiction so that he could be around to see his two children graduate from high school.
Whatley chose to sentence him to regular probation instead. Charlie’s Place releases its clients after they have completed the drug and alcohol counseling program, which may last up to a year.
Whatley said the people in the county have made it clear to her that they want people addicted to drugs and alcohol treated rather than sent to prison.
“They’re telling me they’d rather see someone rehabilitated than sent to prison,” Whatley explained. “Because the prisons are not doing anything. They’re not doing anything. They’re not helping anybody. They’re just locking people up for a certain period of time, and that time is getting shorter and shorter. I don’t want to see you get out of prison in three years and turn around and start drinking and driving again, like you did last time.”
Tara Yvette Gomez, 27, of Beeville, was released from prison on shock probation. Whatley sentenced Gomez to eight years in prison several months ago but offered her “shock probation” if she behaved herself while in prison. Shock probation is offered to first-time offenders to give them a taste of prison life and hopefully give them a shocking look at what is in store for them if they continue to break the laws.
Gomez was convicted of two counts of delivery of a controlled substance, less than one gram of cocaine, a state jail felony offense punishable by up to two years in a state jail. She was also charged with possession of a controlled substance, less than one gram of cocaine, with intent to deliver, another state jail felony offense.
According to court records, Gomez and her male companion sold the illegal narcotics out of their apartment on various dates in 2007. Court documents revealed that Gomez’s two small children were in the room while the drug transaction was taking place on one of the dates.
Warner asked Whatley to consider keeping Gomez in prison.
Whatley said she already has pledged to give Gomez shock probation if she behaved herself in prison.
“I hope probation can help her stay away from selling narcotics in our community,” Warner responded.
“Well, that’s not the probation department’s job,” Whatley replied.
Warner noted aloud that Gomez “rolled her eyes as though she shouldn’t even be here.”
Whatley said she objected to Warner’s remarks.
Also sentenced Tuesday was Lee Ann Morton, 47, of Kenedy. She was found guilty of possession of a controlled substance, less than one gram of methamphetamine, a state jail felony offense.
Warner asked Whatley to sentence Morton to prison because of her “ongoing methamphetamine use and her heart condition.”
Warner worried that sentencing Morton to an inpatient drug and alcohol rehabilitation program would cost Bee County taxpayers if Morton had a heart attack while there.
Morton’s attorney, Robert Flynn, asked Whatley to sentence his client to Charlie’s Place where she could be treated for her addiction, rather than sentence her to prison.
Whatley decided to sentence Morton to three years probation, fined her $750 and ordered her to pay $140 restitution.
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