Felon Who Threatened Woman with a Knife Gets Prison Time in Plea Deal

SAN ANGELO, TX -- A 65-year-old San Angelo man took a plea deal offered by the District Attorney’s office Monday that sends him to prison for holding a knife to a woman’s throat earlier this year.

Richard Joe Rodriquez appeared before District Judge Ben Woodward Monday afternoon.  Rodriquez’s court appointed attorney, Rudy Taylor, brokered the plea deal with prosecutors who agreed to drop an enhancement charge that would mean Rodriquez could’ve faced five to 99 years or life in prison and up to a $10,000 fine.  

The enhancement was for a felony third DWI charge Rodriquez was found guilty of in 2005.

In exchange for a guilty plea, prosecutors abandoned the enhanced charge and Rodriquez faced two to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000. 

Rodriquez was accused of pulling a knife on Dalia Villafranco threatening her while holding the knife to her throat on March 31, 2018.  

District Judge Ben Woodward accepted Rodriquez’s guilty plea and the plea bargain and sentenced him to three years in prison.  Rodriquez was also ordered to pay court costs.

He was given credit for the seven months of time he’s already spent in the Tom Green County Jail from March 31 to Monday.  Rodriquez’s plea deal also includes waiving his right to appeal the court’s sentence.