James Caleb Henson- Leon County District Attorney’s Office

04/29/2025

04/07/2023

04/05/2023

On Monday, April 3, 2023, trial commenced in the 87th Judicial District court, Judge Amy Ward presiding, against Christopher Hopkins for Possession of Co***ne 1-4 grams. The State of Texas was represented by James Caleb Henson, the elected District Attorney for Leon County, while Mr. Hopkins was represented by John Bankhead. The State was assisted in presentation of the case by Leon Counth Attorney Keith Cook

The case was the result of an investigation initiated by Leon County Sheriff's Office Deputy Kristin Shaw. She located a vehicle sitting on the edge of the roadway not moving. She initiated contact with the driver who appeared to be passed out behind the wheel. The deputy conducted an investigation into a potential DWI once she was able to wake the driver. Deputy Shaw was assisted by Deputies Wood and Porter in conducting a search of the vehicle. That search ultimately resulted in the location of packaged ma*****na and co***ne.

The trial lasted through Monday and into Tuesday morning. After closing arguments and deliberation by the jury, the jury found Mr. Hopkins guilty of Possession of Co***ne. Mr. Hopkins was sentenced to 35 years in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice correction division. Mr. Hopkins was remanded to the custody of Leon County Sheriff Kevin Ellis to be transported to TDCJ.

03/24/2023

UPDATE : 03/28/2023 Suspect Brandon Yates in custody.

**Press Release**

Any information on the whereabouts of Brandon Yates please contact Leon County Sheriff’s Office @ 903-536-2749 OR Leon County Crime Stoppers @ 1-844-234-TIPS (8477)

03/03/2023

02/17/2023

State of Texas vs. Rita Lynn Evans
​On February 15, 2023, the Office of James Caleb Henson, the Leon County District Attorney, represented the State of Texas in a criminal trial against Rita Lynn Evans for two counts of Solicitation to Commit Capital Murder.
​The allegation against Rita Evans was that she had paid a third party to plan and commit the capital murder of a family as part of a child custody dispute. These charges are First Degree felonies and carry potential sentencing ranges of 5-99 years in TDCJ or Life imprisonment.
​The trial was held in the 278th District Court of Leon County with Judge Hal Ridley presiding. Trial lasted for two days. The victims in the case, the cooperating third party who had been hired to commit the murder, and Leon County Sherriff’s office investigator Wayne Sallee testified over the course of the trial.
​The jury convicted Rita Evans of both counts of Solicitation of Capital Murder. Judge Ridley remanded Rita Evans into the custody of Leon County Sherriff Kevin Ellis to be held pending sentencing. The sentence will be assessed by the presiding Judge on a later date.

11/23/2022

STATE OF TEXAS VS. MARCUS JOSHUA

On November 15, 2022, a Leon County jury convicted Marcus Joshua of capital murder for the December 6, 2020 robbery and murder of Lloyd Anderson, of Normangee, Texas.

The State was represented at trial by Leon County District Attorney James Caleb Henson and Special Prosecutor Lisa Tanner.

Joshua, of Bryan, Texas, was arrested on February 24, 2021 after an extensive investigation by the Leon County Sheriff’s Office and Texas Rangers and Troopers of the Texas Department of Public Safety. Five other conspirators have also been charged in Anderson’s murder.

The seven day trial was held in the 87th Judicial District Court of Leon County with Judge Deborah Oakes Evans presiding.

The jury heard from a number of witnesses including Investigator Don Craft and Deputy Mike Brown of the LCSO, Trooper Rusty Moore of the Texas Highway Patrol, Investigator Mike Merchant of the Leon County District Attorney’s office, and members of the Anderson family.

The District Attorney’s Office would also like to thank Normangee Tractor and Implement Company for providing surveillance video footage that proved instrumental in solving the case.

The jury deliberated for approximately two hours before finding the defendant guilty of capital murder. Judge Evans sentenced Joshua to a mandatory sentence of Life without Parole and he was remanded to the custody Leon County Sheriff Kevin Ellis for transportation to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.

08/11/2022

07/19/2022

Please see the cases that were plead on July 15, 2022 in the 87th District Court.

20-0083CR Alex Ray Fuentes - POSS CS PG 1 >=1G5LBS