Grand Jury Indicts 60, Here's the Four Worst Offenses

Violence, drugs and theft were the primary contributors to indictments this month, 62 of which were passed down to 60 individuals by a Tom Green County grand jury who met for one day. 

Aside from the deaths of two local citizens, whose accused perpetrators were brought up on charges this month, the Texas Pacifico six were indicted, as well as a handful of men accused of committing violent acts against medical staff, mothers and children. 

Below are reports of four of the most violent offenses heard this month. To view the whole list, click here.

Knife Fight in the ER

A 44-year-old San Angelo man, who entered the hospital on Feb. 10 stating he needed medical help, has been indicted on two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon after pulling a knife on two emergency room staffers.

According to a complaint written by Ali Shah, Frank Dominguez was escorted to a room in Shannon’s ER after entering the facility and sat down on a bed. He then pulled a large knife out of his pocket and was about to cut Zachary Ringo, when Savannah Endres, also in the room, held down his hand and alerted Ringo, the complaint states.

The two managed to push Dominguez away and flee, but when responding officer Abel Nandin arrived on scene the suspect had wielded two knives, which he held to his neck and began threatening to cut himself and the officer. Nandin was able to take Dominguez in custody without further disturbance.

Dominguez has been charged with two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, a second-degree felony punishable by two to 20 years and a fine not to exceed $10k.

“If they wanted to die”

When Bianca Viafranco showed up at her boyfriend’s house on Feb. 3, she wanted to get her car back. Instead, a complaint states, she was met at the door by boyfriend Armando Barrera’s mother Isabel, who relayed that her son had been cheating on her and was not too happy that she’d arrived. The other woman, the complaint states, was still in the bedroom.

When Barrera saw Viafranco talking to his mother at the door an argument ensued and he began pushing her, trying to get her to leave, wrote detective James Hernandez. Coming to the girl’s defense, Isabel then grabbed a frying pan from the stove and threatened to hit her son if he didn’t stop. He, in turn, went to his room and retrieved his SKS assault rifle, threatening the women and telling them “if they wanted to die”.

At some point Barrera set the rifle down and began strangling his girlfriend, dragging her to the bathroom by the kitchen, Hernandez reported. When she got away and his mother tried to help her, he pushed Viafranco into his mom knocking her to the floor, then began choking his mother, stating he didn’t like for her to be causing drama, the complaint states.

Viafranco managed to get outside and call the police, at which point Barrera threw something in his Cadillac and left with Annalisa Pina, the woman who had spent the night with him. The two were located later at a nearby apartment complex, Hernandez wrote.

Both women reported being strangled between one to two minutes and relayed to responding officers that Barrera had said “if they wanted to die” while holding the SKS. Barrera, however said he’d only pulled his air soft gun out and put the SKS in his car because he thought he would get in trouble with it. He denied assaulting both his girlfriend and his mother.

Pina, who had been in the bedroom the entire time, told officers she felt Viafranco and Isabel wanted to assault her and that Barrera was trying to prevent them from coming into the room where she was located, the complaint states. She said she’d seen him grab something from the room but didn’t know what it was, however she had heard Barrera say “if they wanted to die”.

Barrera has been indicted on two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, a second-degree felony. He was also indicted for possessing less than a gram of meth, a state jail felony.

BB Gun Heist

Timothy Carl Mitchell, 48, has been indicted on an enhanced count of second-degree robbery after allegedly threatening his stepdaughter and another man with a handgun and stealing their cell phones.

On Feb. 17, Aaron Sullivan was sitting on his porch in the unit block of E. 9^th St. when Mitchell walked up demanding $20 that was owed to him, a complaint states.

Sullivan said he didn’t have the money, but Mitchell pulled out a handgun and pushed it into his side, telling him to go on in the house where a woman named Dolores Sullivan was. Mitchell demanded the money again, the complaint states. When both responded that they had no money to give, Mitchell reportedly spotted their cell phones and took both of them, then left the residence on foot.

Officer Brian Bylsma then located a man matching the description of the suspect near the residence and saw a gun in his possession. After doing a felony takedown, Bylsma determined the gun was a BB pistol, the complaint states.

Mitchell consented to an interview and told detective Michael Gaeta that he had been invited into the Sullivans’ home when he asked for money, and was voluntarily given the phones to hold until they could pay him back, the complaint states. He then claimed to have left the house after being told by Dolores to leave.

Due to a prior first-degree felony conviction, Mitchell’s second-degree charge has been enhanced to a first-degree felony, punishable by five to 99 years in prison and a fine not to exceed $10k.

Stolen Innocence

A 28-year-old San Angelo man accused of violently sexually assaulting a little girl under the age of six has been indicted on two felony counts this month, one of which is an enhanced first-degree charge of aggravated sexual of child with a 15-year minimum sentence.

According to a complaint filed with the case, Thomas Boden had been drinking on Jan. 1 when he got into a fight with a woman and the police were called for assistance.

As the police dealt with Boden, the woman changed the little girl’s diaper, where she discovered a large amount of blood. The child was taken to the hospital and evaluated by a sexual assault nurse examiner. Doctors discovered a laceration “consistent with a recent penetrative trauma...” that they deemed was “…not an accidental injury or one the child would have caused to herself,” the complaint states.

After investigation, Boden was arrested for aggravated sexual assault of a child on Feb. 19. He was released the following day on a $30,000 surety bond.

A grand jury indicted Boden in April on one count of second-degree indecency with a child sexual contact and first-degree aggravated sexual assault of a child, enhanced to a punishment range of 15 years to life.