The Best of the 59 Grand Jury Indictments in October

A 35-year-old man who allegedly attempted to rape a 14-year-old girl while her father was away in prison has been indicted on two felony charges by a Tom Green County Grand Jury this month.

According to court documents, local authorities caught wind of the alleged incident when a Lt. correctional officer at the T.L Roach Unit in Childress called the SAPD to report than an inmate had notified him that his daughter had been assaulted by Alvino Martinez Ramos.

San Angelo Police were able to locate the girl, who then made an outcry of abuse, stating that the assault had taken place on April 19. Ramos, a convicted sex offender, was arrested on a warrant on April 27 and booked for indecency with a child sexual contact.

In October, a grand jury indicted Ramos for the second-degree felony indecency charge, plus attempt to commit sexual assault of a child, a third-degree felony. Ramos has remained in jail since April 27. He is being held in lieu of a $20,000 bond for the attempt charge and a $40,000 bond for the indecency charge.

Fire Starter

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Above: Christopher Edward Noland has been arrested on a felony arson charge after lighting his girlfriend's belongings on fire. (Photo/TGCJ)

A 34-year-old man is facing five to 99 years’ imprisonment for setting fire to his girlfriend’s clothes under a carport on Live Oak St.

Christopher Edward Noland was arrested in the early morning hours of July 31 when a tenant in a rent house called in the fire to emergency dispatch. Noland had been the subject of a domestic disturbance the previous night, Fire Marshal Ross Coleman reported at the time.

Noland was indicted earlier this month for arson with intent to damage a habitation. According to the indictment, he is accused of setting photos, clothes and paper on fire with a propane torch. Two people were inside the attached residence at the time; no one was injured during the fire.

Noland has remained in jail since his arrest on July 31 and is being held in lieu of a $50,000 bond. Arson with intent to damage a habitation is a first-degree felony.

Rape at Knifepoint

Yonatan Gerardo Valdespino, 21, was wanted in Denver when his name came up in a report of a brutal rape and assault of a local girl in August.

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Above: Yonatan Gerardo Valdespino has been arrested on a warrant out of Denver and accused of raping a local teen. (Photo/TGCJ)

According to court documents, Valdespino and a group of four juveniles were at Brown’s Pool on Aug. 5 when they left to drink and party at his house in the 1100 block of Koberlin. When Valdespino’s mother kicked them out, two of the teens split to throw rocks at the windows of parked cars, while a third juvenile unexpectedly ran off in an unknown direction. Valdespino and the 14-year-old victim then began walking toward River Pointe Apartments in search of the juvenile who had run away.

The documents state that when the two reached a field roughly a block north of the apartment complex, Valdespino grew violent and began to assault the girl physically, then pulled a knife on her and sexually assaulted her with the blade held to her neck. He later denied all allegations.

Valdespino was booked on Aug. 5 for both the first-degree felony aggravated sexual assault of a child charge and the warrant out of Colorado. He was indicted on the former in October and is being held in lieu of a $250,000 bond.

Officer Assault

Adam Lee Mendez, was facing only a Class B Misdemeanor theft charge when he caught the eye of a Walmart associate, who accused him stealing beer. The 32-year-old initially cooperated with the 29th St. store's security and went into the security office, but by the time it was all over he'd gone from a maximum punishment of 180 days in jail to a maximum of 10 years on a felony charge.

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Above: Adam Lee Mendez has been jailed on multiple misdemeanors and a felony after becoming combative with officers and Walmart security. (Photo/TGCJ)

According to police, Mendez was caught attempting to steal beer, water and ice from the store on Aug. 8 by the store’s security. They called police, and reported while the officers were enroute that Mendez had become combative.

When SAPD Officer Lee Kvittem arrived, Mendez began resisting, assaulting the Walmart associate and kicking him in the leg. Among his various charges was a third-degree felony assault on a public servant charge, for which he was indicted in October. He is still in jail and is being held in lieu of a $5,000 bond for the assault charge, plus another $2,000 in bonds for assault, theft and resisting arrest.

Indictments

In total, 59 indictments were handed down in October by a Tom Green County grand jury. The full list can be viewed here.