Update 3:17 p.m. A Travis County jury has sentenced Charles “Chas” Roberts Jr. to 25 years in prison for killing a man waiting at a bus stop when Roberts lost control of his van while evading a sheriff’s deputy on Manchaca Road last year. Roberts, 24, must serve half that sentence before he is eligible for parole.
Earlier:Prosecutor Brandon Grunewald asked a Travis County jury today to assess a 35-year-sentence to Charles “Chas” Roberts Jr., who was convicted Wednesday of murder for evading a sheriff’s deputy and crashing his car into a man waiting for a bus last year.
Roberts’ defense lawyer asked the jury for leniency.
The jury in state District Judge Julie Kocurek’s courtroom began deliberating a sentence this morning. Roberts, at right, faces from five years to life in prison.
Roberts crashed into the bus stop alongside Manchaca Road on April 11, 2011, killing Rondal Lynn Brooks, a 41-year-old who worked as a rehab technician, similar to a nurse’s aide
Grunewald told the jury that Brooks took the bus because he was afraid to drive because years earlier he survived a car crash that killed two others.
“He’s taking the bus because he doesn’t want to get killed by a car,” Grunewald said in his emotional closing argument. “That’s his one fear and that’s what happened to him.”
Defense lawyer Rhett Braniff asked for a sentence at the low end of that range.
“I think there’s a life worth saving over there,” he said. “It was an unintentional act.”
Braniff said that since the crash, Roberts and his family and friends have become better equipped to understand that his attention deficit hyperactivity disorder could lead to criminal behavior. They now know the importance of him staying on his medication, Braniff said.
Roberts, 24, did not testify.
Brooks had worked a double shift at Texas Neurorehab Center and was waiting for the Capital Metro bus near the corner of Manchaca Road and Dittmar Road in South Austin when he was hit so hard by Roberts’ Toyota Sienna van that his body ended up in a tree.
Roberts was being chased by a sheriff’s deputy who had been trying to pull him over for traffic violations. He had driven at speeds up to 90 miles per hour and had just run a red light when he crashed into the bus stop, according to testimony.
Roberts ran away from the scene and told one person at a nearby house: “I’ve got warrants. I need to get home to my wife and kids,’ according to testimony.
Roberts has previously been convicted of driving while intoxicated, and in 2011 he pleaded guilty to credit card abuse and was sentenced to four years’ deferred adjudication, a form of probation.
A warrant for his arrest in that case had been issued about a month before the fatal crash.
Stephen Thorne, a forensic psychologist, told jurors yesterday that he spent about five hours interviewing Roberts and learned that Roberts has drug and alcohol addictions. He also determined that Roberts suffers from attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, which could cause problems with impulse control.
Prosecutor Steven Brand said Roberts must be held accountable.
“It’s time we just say enough,” he said, “enough with your excuses.”