Appeals court upholds 70-year sentence for man who branded girlfriend in 2018
An appeals court has upheld the decision of a Parker County jury to convict and sentence a man who in 2018 used a hot belt buckle to brand his girlfriend.
David Shawn Minze, 41, of Springtown, was sentenced to 70 years in prison for the act. The Second Court of Appeals in Fort Worth said there was no ground for reversal.
The Parker County District Attorney said Minze choked his girlfriend, smothered her with a pillow and cut up pieces of her clothing before taking a belt buckle with a large “S” on it, heating it up and using it to brand her on her upper buttocks.
Minze’s case was tried as felony assault because of a 2015 family violence conviction, according to the Parker County District Attorney’s office.
Minze argued to the appeals court that the introduction of that cases’ outcome to jurors “was an inadmissible extraneous offense,” Assistant District Attorney Abby Placke said in a news release about the appellate court’s decision.
Placke said Minze did not properly object to the case outcome’s introduction into evidence. The appellate court agreed.
Minze, who had a total of six prior felony convictions, can seek parole in 2034. He will be 54.