Navarro County District Attorney's Office

06/03/2026

On Tuesday, a jury in the 13th District Court sentenced Jeremy Edward Davila to 55 years confinement with TDCJ. Davila was charged with the Sexual Assault of a Child after he engaged in a six-month s*xual relationship with a then sixteen-year-old girl. Davila, twenty-eight-years old at the time, was a close family friend of the child and had known her since she was around six-years-old.

In the Fall of 2023, Davila was entrusted with looking out for the child, and within two days he began having s*x with her. During these six months, the child was s*xually abused, physically abused, and was introduced to hard drugs. In April of 2024, the child had the courage to tell her mother about the abuse. Her mother acted quickly, referring the matter to the police. Corsicana Police Detective Alexandra Holden investigated the case thoroughly. Detective Holden located key evidence on the child’s and defendant’s cell phones that proved the relationship and showed the abuse, including videos of the s*xual assault taken by the child. Additionally, she was able to locate evidence of the child becoming involved in Davila’s narcotics dealing lifestyle. This phone extraction was able to be performed thanks to the expertise of Investigator John Dickey of Kaufman County. Dr. Lydia Bailey of the Children’s Advocacy Center interviewed the child, revealing the details of the abuse. Additionally, Dr. Bailey provided crucial testimony on the complex dynamics of s*xual and physical abuse.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney’s Jacob Shaw and Amber Slaton with critical aid from Vivyan Corpus, the victim assistance coordinator. The child’s mother also testified, sharing her initial trust of Davila, the changes seen in her daughter, and the marks and bruises she witnessed. The State also introduced further evidence of Davila’s drug dealing with his prior conviction for Possession of a Controlled Substance with Intent to Deliver. The District Attorney’s Office learned that, during the trial, Davila was calling the victim from jail to tell her that it would be her fault if he received a lengthy sentence. The victim did not testify, at her own request. No one testified on Davila’s behalf. Thanks to the diligent work of all involved, Davila will not be able to prey on the vulnerable in Navarro County any time soon.

05/21/2026

Ian Stefano Tolliver was found guilty by a jury in the County Court at Law of Navarro County on March 13, 2026 on four counts: Possession with intent to deliver a Controlled Substance (co***ne) 4-200 Grams; Possession with intent to deliver a Controlled Substance (methamphetamine) – 4-200 Grams, Unlawful Possession of a Firearm by a Felon, and Possession of a Controlled Substance (fentanyl) Under 1 Gram. Sentencing was set for May 20, 2026.

Mr. Tolliver was arrested on February 26, 2025 after police were called to the Silver Lake Apartments (1600 E. 13th Ave.) in reference to a disturbance that had been reported. Officers responding to the scene were flagged down by a female and observed a vehicle that appeared to be attempting to leave the scene. While speaking with the driver and sole occupant of that vehicle, Ian Tolliver, officers observed a strong odor of ma*****na coming from the vehicle.

Officers conducted a probable cause search of the vehicle and located three large bags of ma*****na, individually-packaged bags of crack co***ne (7.6 grams), methamphetamine pills (26.7 grams), numerous prescription pill bottles not belonging to the defendant, a digital scale, ammunition, and a 9mm semi-automatic handgun with an extended magazine.

On Wednesday May 20th, the Navarro County Court at Law proceeded to sentencing. After hearing arguments of counsel, Judge Amanda Putman sentenced Mr. Tolliver to 47 years in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Mr. Tolliver has several prior convictions for drug-related offenses, refused to take any responsibility for his actions, and was clearly dealing drugs in our community. Mr. Tolliver was represented by Attorney Kenneth Leatherman. District Attorney, Will Thompson, and Assistant District Attorney, Enoch Basnett, represented the State.

04/23/2026

Demontrey Shamorgan Johnson was convicted by a jury on April 21, 2026 in the 13th District Court for Possession of a 1-4 grams of methamphetamine, Attempt to Tamper with Physical Evidence, and Evading Arrest or Detention with Previous Conviction.

Mr. Johnson was arrested on November 16, 2024 after enlisting a group of juveniles to assist him with bringing bags of various items into a vacant house. After a concerned neighbor called 911 for assistance, and Corsicana Police Department Corporal Scott Tidwell and Officer Kris Waltrowski arrived to check out the area. Upon seeing the arrival of the police, Mr. Johnson swiftly exited the house in an attempt to flee the scene. Officers noticed Mr. Johnson running, advised him to stop which he did not, which led to a foot pursuit. While running from the police, Mr. Johnson threw a plastic bag containing methamphetamine into a neighbor’s yard. Mr. Johnson was eventually apprehended and arrested, and the methamphetamine was located by officers.

Due to Mr. Johnson’s prior criminal history, he was facing a punishment range of 25-99 years for the Possession charge, 2-20 years for the Attempted Tampering, and 180 days-2 years for the Evading Arrest. During the punishment phase of the trial, both Johnson’s attorney and the District Attorney asked the jury to assess the minimum of 25 years on the drug possession charge, and the jury did so. Johnson was sentenced to 15 years on the Attempted Tampering with Evidence and 2 years on the Evading charge. All three sentences will run concurrently. Johnson will receive credit for the time he has been in jail since his arrest on November 16, 2024. He will be eligible for parole in about 2 years.

The State of Texas was represented by District Attorney Will Thompson and Assistant District Attorney Juliana Londono. Corsicana PD officers Tidwell, Waltrowski and Dunagan testified for the prosecution.

04/15/2026

On Tuesday, Antonio Murphy was found guilty of Unlawful Possession of a Weapon by a Felon and Possession of a Controlled Substance 4-200 grams, by a jury in the Navarro County Court at Law.

Mr. Murphy was arrested after he drove his car into a flooded area near Chambers Creek and NB IH-45 at 2:50 a.m. in June 2021. Both Mr. Murphy and a passing motorist called 911 for assistance, and Navarro County Sheriff’s Deputies Matt Porter and Travis Thurston were dispatched to the scene to check on Murphy’s welfare. Upon arrival, Thurston observed the odor of alcohol, and Mr. Murphy exhibited signs of intoxication. When Deputy Thurston patted down Murphy’s pockets, he immediately located a pistol and baggies containing pills and co***ne in Murphy’s front pants pocket. In court, the defense accused the deputies of violating Murphy’s rights and suggested that the jury should disregard the evidence, but fortunately neither the judge nor the jury was persuaded.

During trial Tuesday, NCSO deputies came to the courtroom to report that they received a complaint from a citizen who had appeared for jury duty last Friday, and over the weekend she received unsolicited calls from Mr. Murphy and one of his relatives. Investigation by NCSO revealed that Murphy obtained confidential juror information during the jury selection last Friday, took the information back to the jail with him, and used that confidential information to make numerous calls. Murphy also enlisted a relative to make calls.

On Wednesday, the prosecutors introduced court documents showing that Murphy’s lengthy criminal history included numerous charges of assault, drug delivery, and aggravated assault. The documents showed that Murphy had previously served two prison sentences.

The jury deliberated for approximately 40 minutes before sentencing him to 25 years in TDCJ. Assistant District Attorneys Katy Colts and Enoch Basnett represented the State of Texas. Mr. Murphy was represented by Attorney Damara Watkins.

04/02/2026

Wednesday afternoon in the Navarro County Court at Law Nathan Perez was sentenced to 19 years in prison for Engaging in Organized Criminal Activity, Aggravated Assault with a Deadly Weapon, Possession of a Prohibited Weapon and Tampering with Physical Evidence. The charges stemmed from drive-by shootings committed in Corsicana on the nights of January 31 and February 1, 2025. The investigation revealed that Perez and others fired at a house on W. 11th Ave. with two fully automatic pistols, causing non-fatal injuries to two residents.

Corsicana police officers promptly located a car, driven by Gabriel Alvarez and matching the description provided by the victims. When Officer Hanna got out of his vehicle to contact the suspects, Alvarez accelerated away, leading to a pursuit through a residential area during which Alvarez reached speeds over 60 mph and drove through the yards of several residences. Alvarez eventually stopped the car and fled on foot before he was caught by Officer Putman. Perez also fled on foot, discarding a fully automatic .45 pistol before he was caught by Officer Hanna. After a thorough investigation, Isaac Martinez was later arrested after police executed a search warrant at his residence and recovered a gun and ammunition which ballistic testing later tied to the shootings.

At the time of these shootings, Perez was already on probation for an incident in 2023 when he threatened a man with a gun. The conditions of probation in that case prohibited Alvarez from possessing any firearm or having any contact with any person with criminal history or involved in criminal activity. Perez had also received probation for numerous misdemeanors, all of which were ultimately revoked. Perez is 20 years old, a young age to be headed to prison. His age was a significant factor in the decision to grant him probation for his prior aggravated assault. Before sentencing, Judge Amanda Putman told Perez that he had not taken probation seriously in prior cases and she would not show him the leniency he received in those cases. Perez will be eligible for parole after serving one half of his sentence.

03/13/2026

Today in the Navarro County Court at Law a jury found Ian Tolliver guilty of Possession with intent to deliver co***ne and methamphetamine, possession of fentanyl and possession of a firearm by a felon. In February 2025 Officers Rodriguez and Nanny responded to Silverlake Apartments after a caller reported a disturbance. As they approached they saw a woman standing in front of a car driven by Tolliver frantically waiving to get their attention. As Tolliver started to drive away the woman leaned against his car trying to prevent him from leaving before she fell to the pavement. Tolliver kept driving and attempted to drive around the police cars before Sgt Nanny blocked his path. While Rodriguez spoke with the woman, Nanny approached Tolliver and immediately detected a strong odor of ma*****na. A search of the car revealed 4.4 gm of methamphetamine, 7.5 gm of co***ne, 2 pills of fentanyl (all later confirmed by lab testing), and 2 large bags of ma*****na. The officer also found a loaded 9 mm pistol. Tolliver had been convicted of a felony drug charge in the same court in 2017.

At trial the defense accused the officers of lying and giving false testimony and repeatedly asserted that the jury must ignore all of the evidence because the officers violated Tolliver’s rights. Fortunately, neither the court nor the jury found any merit in the defense allegations. Tolliver was represented by attorney Ken Leatherman.

I want to commend and thank Sgt Nanny and Officer Rodriguez for their work on the investigation last year and for trial this week. The case was prosecuted by DA Will Thompson, ADA Enoch Basnett and ADA Jennifer Weaver. We will continue to vigorously prosecute those who profit from selling drugs that do so much harm in our community.

03/05/2026

Maria Barajas was sentenced to life in prison today for continuous s*xual abuse of a young child. The trial started with jury selection Monday, the jury returned a verdict of guilty Wednesday and this morning the jury set her sentence at life in prison. Barajas will not be eligible for parole.

In 2016 Barajas was hired to babysit two young children after school until their parent finished work. Barajas and her husband sometimes watched the children overnight. In May of 2017 the victim disclosed to a teacher that her babysitter’s husband had been s*xually molesting her while the babysitter took videos and photos. The victim was quickly interviewed by Dr. Lydia Bailey at the Child Advocacy Center, where she revealed additional details. That afternoon Detectives Jason Earles and Kevin Scott from NCSO obtained a search warrant and went to the defendant’s residence where they seized cell phones from the defendant and her husband. The next day, based on evidence from the forensic interview of the victim and the defendant’s cell phone, the detectives returned with warrants to arrest both suspects. When they arrived at the defendant’s residence, they found her family packing up her belongings. The family told them the suspects might have gone to Mexico. Detectives promptly sent the warrant information to agencies on the Mexican border and later received a photo of the suspects crossing into Mexico in Laredo early the next morning.

In June of 2025 the defendant was arrested attempting to cross the border back into the U.S. Evidence in the trial revealed that Barajas and her husband started grooming the victim within a few days of being hired to watch the children. They quickly escalated to giving the 8 year old alcohol and s*xually abusing her. Barajas both participated in the abuse and took photos and video of her husband molesting the victim.

The evidence was presented by Assistant District Attorney Katy Colts and District Attorney Will Thompson. We would like to thank Dr. Bailey and Detective Earles for their great work bringing justice for this victim. We also thank those who spent the week serving on the jury for once again sending the message that we have no tolerance for those who victimize our children.

Also this week in the 13th District Court John Henry Hood, Jr. was convicted by a jury of Theft of Property < $2500 with 2 or more previous convictions after stealing items from Walmart. Mr. Hood’s defense was that there was a computer malfunction with the self-checkout register. The CCTV video clearly showed Mr. Hood skip scanning items, meaning that he would scan some items while not scanning others before placing them in the shopping cart and attempting to exit the store. Walmart asset protection associate observed the skip scanning and purposefully paused the transaction, causing a message to appear on the register screen notifying Mr. Hood that a Walmart associate was on the way. The Asset Protection associate testified that this is their attempt to deter individuals from stealing. In this case, the deterrence did not work on Mr. Hood who continued to skip scan items after the Walmart associate left the register. Hood then attempted to leave the store, passing the last point of sale. He was confronted by the asset protection associate and arrested by the Corsicana Police Department for theft. After the jury returned the guilty verdict, Hood was faced with the punishment range of 2 to 20 years in TDCJ due to multiple prior felony convictions that were in addition to his prior theft convictions. Mr. Hood accepted a plea offer of 5 years confinement in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. The State was represented by Asst. District Attorneys Juliana Londono and Amber Slaton.

02/21/2026

WANTED
JOSEPH DORCEUS
CONTACT KING BAIL BONDS
903-874-6400
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12/31/2025

Be safe tonight!

As you celebrate rising in the New Year, make safety your top resolution.
🚕Plan a sober ride
🔥Follow local laws and keep fireworks away from children and flammable areas
🔫No Celebratory gunfire

Start the New Year responsibly and keep our families safe!!!!!

12/17/2025

This morning in the Navarro County Court at Law Gabriel Alvarez was sentenced to 15 years in prison for Engaging in Organized Criminal Activity, Possession of a Prohibited Weapon and Evading Arrest with a Vehicle. The charges stemmed from drive-by shootings committed in Corsicana on the nights of January 31 and February 1, 2025. The investigation revealed that Alavarez and others fired at a house on W. 11th Ave. with two fully automatic pistols, causing non-fatal injuries to two residents.

Corsicana police officers promptly located a car, driven by Alvarez and matching the description provided by the victims. When Officer Hanna got out of his vehicle to contact the suspects, Alvarez accelerated away, leading to a pursuit through a residential area during which Alvarez reached speeds over 60 mph and drove through the yards of several residences. Alvarez eventually stopped the car and fled on foot before he was caught by Officer Putman. Two of the other suspects were arrested that night and, after a thorough investigation, Isaac Martinez was later arrested after police executed a search warrant at his residence and recovered a gun and ammunition which ballistic testing later tied to the shootings.

At the time of these shootings, Alvarez was already on probation for charges stemming from a drive-by shooting in February 2024. The conditions of probation in that case prohibited Alvarez from possessing any firearm or having any contact with any of the co-defendants who were charged in that episode. One of those co-defendants was in the car with Alvarez again on February 1st. Alavarez had prior charges for Unauthorized Use of a Vehicle, Possession of Ma*****na and Unlawfully Carrying a Weapon. Alvarez is 20 years old, a young age to be headed to prison. His age was a significant factor in the decision to grant him probation for his prior drive-by shooting. The age of the shooter makes no difference to the person who gets shot. Alvarez will be eligible for parole after serving one half of his sentence.