Levelland man gets five more years for assaulting U.S. Marshals in court
A Levelland man on Wednesday was handed a five-year federal prison sentence for assaulting U.S. Marshals during a violent outburst at the end of his sentencing hearing on an unrelated kidnapping case last year.
The five-year sentence will be added to the 30-year prison sentence Damien Dre Gonzales, 28, received from U.S. District Judge James Wesley Hendrix in June 2021.
Gonzales appeared before Hendrix for a sentencing hearing Wednesday after he pleaded guilty in May to a count of assaulting a federal officer involving physical contact.
The offense carries a punishment of up to eight years in prison. A presentencing report compiled by the U.S. probation office recommended a sentence between 24-30 months in prison.
Gonzales was charged with the offense after he lashed out in court during a June 10, 2021 sentencing hearing when he learned that he was sentenced to 30 years in prison for abducting a 9-year-old girl from a party in Levelland. Police in Levelland found Gonzales with the girl that night and she told officers that Gonzales tried to rape her.
Gonzales faced 20 years to life in prison for the kidnapping case and a presentence report recommended an advisory range of 292 to 365 months in prison.
During the June 10, 2021 sentencing hearing, Gonzales smiled and chuckled as federal prosecutors argued for a 30-year sentence telling the court that he was a danger to the community.
Meanwhile, Gonzales also asked the court for leniency saying, "no one died and no one was seriously injured."
Hendrix told Gonzales that the disturbing facts in the case showed the danger he posed to the community was "off the charts."
"You continue to not care today," he said in June 2021. "That is very concerning."
Hendrix told Gonzales that his behavior in court showed he had no remorse nor did it appear that he accepted responsibility for his actions. However, Hendrix told him at the time that he was not going beyond the advisory range because his guilty plea spared the girl from having to testify in court.
Sentences are typically announced in months and after learning the value of his sentence in years, Gonzales became upset, cursed and pulled at a microphone from the podium.
A U.S. Marshal grabbed him and Gonzales struggled against her and shoved her with his shoulder to throw her off. Another Marshal tackled him and a courtroom security officer put him in a headlock.
Within seconds more law enforcement agents in the courtroom including Lubbock County Sheriff DEA taskforce officers, an FBI task fortce who were in court on other cases that day, piled on Gonzales.
"Are you done?," one officer said. "It's over."
Gonzales continued to struggle with them and hurl threats as he was pinned to the floor.
"Take these handcuffs off and see if we can do it all day," he said.
Gonzales was on the floor for about two minutes before members of the Lubbock County Sheriff's Office Detention Response Team arrived at the courtroom to escort him back to jail. Gonzales nor law enforcement agents appeared to be seriously injured after the fray.
At the jail, Gonzales could be heard in jailhouse phone calls bragging about assaulting the Marshals, stating that he “threw” and “ran at” both of them, according to plea documents.
Gonzales was more restrained at Wednesday's hearing this time around and apologized to the court for his actions.
However, Hendrix told Gonzales that the advisory range didn't reflect the seriousness of his actions and needed a punishment that would promote respect for the law and officers who enforce them.
“This case reminds us of the challenges law enforcement agents and officers face on a daily basis. We are immensely grateful to these officers for acting swiftly to keep the courtroom safe,” said U.S. Attorney Chad Meacham in a statement.
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Levelland man who assaulted Marshals in court gets five year sentence
