It most certainly wasn’t an April Fool’s Day for one Navasota man last Friday. That’s because it only took 11 Grimes County women and one man a half hour to find him guilty of burglary of a home, though his punishment could have been much worse.
It was July of last year that Larry Castro Baldobino was accused of entering the Navasota Residence of his sister and stealing her jewelry.
Reacting to Friday’s verdict, Grimes County District Attorney Tuck McLain said he was very pleased, going on to cite his Assistant DA Jo Ann Linzer, who had put on evidence during the punishment phase of the trial showing that Baldobino had previously been sentenced to a decade and a half in prison in back 1992 for another burglary in Grimes County.
And as a result of that prior felony record, the jury could have sentenced him to from two to 99 years, or even life in prison.
Following Linzer’s presentation, it took the jury another three hours to decide on Baldobino’s punishment: 32 years in prison and a $7,500.00 fine.
Reacting to that sentence, McLain proclaimed that Linzer has proven herself a great asset to the Citizens of Grimes County, by insuring repeat felons spend significant time behind bars.
McLain also went on to praise the Navasota Police Department for what he called a great job of investigating this case and providing the evidence necessary to achieve this result.
Balldobino was represented at trial by Navasota Attorney Brent Cahill.
