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Leonardo Rivera Benitez, Jr. v. State
Citation: Not availableDocket: 02-07-00180-CR
Court: Court of Appeals of Texas; April 17, 2008; Texas; State Appellate Court
Original Court Document: View Document
Leonardo Rivera Benitez, Jr. was charged with burglary of a building and indecency with a child, to which he entered a plea bargain and received deferred adjudication community supervision for five and six years, respectively. While under supervision, the State filed a petition for adjudication, alleging multiple violations, including failure to register as a sex offender, committing new offenses, and not complying with various supervision requirements. Benitez pled true to the violations but cited inability to pay as an issue. The trial court, after hearing testimony from his community supervision officer regarding these violations, granted the State's petition, sentencing Benitez to two years for the burglary and ten years for the indecency charge, along with a $10,000 fine for each case. Benitez contested the trial court's discretion in assessing these punishments, framing his argument around the revocation of his community supervision. The court clarified that under Texas law, proof of any one violation is sufficient for revocation, and Benitez’s plea of true to new offenses satisfied the burden of proof. The court held that due process was met, as only one violation needed to be specifically found for revocation. Despite receiving maximum sentences, Benitez did not argue that they were excessive or disproportionate. Ultimately, the court affirmed the trial court’s judgments, ruling that there was no abuse of discretion in the adjudication or sentencing.