McBurnett's Guilty Plea and 35-Year Sentence Ends San Angelo's Party Ranch Trials

SAN ANGELO, TX - Malcolm Guy McBurnett pleaded guilty to intoxication manslaughter in Judge Tom Gossett’s courtroom this afternoon. The state accused McBurnett of manslaughter for an incident that killed a Goodfellow AFB Marine Donald Di Pietro.

McBurnett was at a club on Old Christoval Rd. called The Party Ranch in March 9, 2013 where he consumed several alcoholic beverages and then attempted to drive off, but his truck wouldn’t start.

“The truck battery was dead so he had some friends push his vehicle into Christoval Road so he could start the truck by popping the clutch,” SAPD Officer Jason Chegwidden wrote in his arrest report. “While McBurnett was in the roadway, a motorcycle crashed into the truck. The driver of the motorcycle was killed by the impact.”

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Above: Malcolm Guy McBurnett. (TGCJ)

The police report stated McBurnett failed field sobriety tests after the crash and refused to provide a breath specimen. He was jailed for intoxication manslaughter with a vehicle and manslaughter, both second-degree felonies enhanced to the first degree due to three prior DWI convictions, as well as criminally negligent homicide, a state jail felony, and got off bond for DWI. He also had two prior DWIs pending prosecution.

After his arrest, McBurnett was evaluated for competency to stand trial in June 2013 by Dr. Jarvis Wright, who determined McBurnett was not only incompetent, but also diagnosed the defendant with alcohol dependence and “dementia not otherwise specified (possibly due to chronic substance abuse),” a report states.

McBurnett was then admitted to the North Texas State Hospital for competency restoration treatment, where he remained until Nov. 2013, when he was released as competent. His attorney, however, felt that the treatment was unsuccessful and requested another evaluation (See: Party Ranch Intoxication Manslaughter Suspect Sent to Mental Hospital, by Chelsea Reinhard, Mar. 19, 2015).

Last week saw a flurry of activity prior to the trial scheduled for today. Including, the state filed a motion raising the stakes for McBurnett’s defense. The prosecuting DA stated his intent to seek a deadly weapon finding.

“The State therefore provides notice of its intent to prove the following pleading for each count in the Indictment, to wit:

“And it is further presented in and to said Court that a deadly weapon, to-wit: a vehicle which in the manner of its use and intended use was capable of causing death and serious bodily injury, was used or exhibited during the commission of the aforesaid offense or during immediate flight following the commission of the aforesaid offense and that the defendant used or exhibited said deadly weapon or was a party to the aforesaid offense and knew that a deadly weapon would be used or exhibited,” wrote Richard Villarreal, First Assistant District Attorney.

In the plea arrangement presented to Judge Gossett this afternoon, McBurnett agreed to the 35-year prison sentence in exchange for a guilty plea. As part of the guilty plea, McBurnett admitted he was operating the pickup truck in the “wrong lane of a roadway” that caused the death of Di Pietro when he ran into McBurnett’s stalled truck while riding his motorcycle. McBurnett also confirmed with the court that in 1998 he was convicted for his third DWI, a third degree felony.

McBurnett was also ordered to pay $80 in restitution.

The Party Ranch trials come to a close with McBurnett’s sentencing. Previously, Allen Lee Schmidt was convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to 10 years probation. Schmidt helped McBurnett push his truck onto Christoval Rd. so McBurnett would pop the clutch and start it. (See: Gruesome Scene After Motorcycle Crash Described in Party Ranch Trial, Aug. 19, 2014).

The owner of the Party Ranch, Tracy Lawson, was not present with the incident occurred. Lawyers have piled multiple civil lawsuits on him, including a $5 million judgment against him for Di Pietro’s father.  Lawson has an additional $5 million wrongful death judgment for another incident in 2012 of a drunk driver from his establishment causing death.

The Party Ranch closed permanently sometime after the Di Pietro crash.

For more on the Party Ranch trials, click here.