New Braunfels, TX — A 52-year-old New Braunfels man has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for Aggravated Assault with a Deadly Weapon and eight years for Assault Family Violence by Impeding Breath or Circulation after a jury found him guilty.
Visiting Judge Edna Salinas sentenced Marcos Gallegos on June 29. Because a deadly weapon was used during the aggravated assault, Gallegos must serve at least half of that sentence before becoming eligible for parole.
According to prosecutors, New Braunfels police were initially called after a child told her mother that Gallegos had attempted to sexually assault her. When the mother confronted Gallegos about the disclosure, prosecutors said he violently attacked her.
Evidence presented at trial showed Gallegos threw the woman to the floor, stomped on her chest, kicked her in the face with a boot and grabbed her by the throat, restricting her breathing for nearly a minute.
Prosecutors said Gallegos knew the woman was wearing a heart-monitoring device at the time. Officers documented visible injuries to her neck consistent with strangulation, and during a later law enforcement interview, she reportedly began receiving calls from her doctor after alerts were generated by the monitoring service.
Jurors also learned that Gallegos had previously been convicted by another Comal County jury of two counts of Indecency with a Child by Contact in connection with the child whose disclosure prompted the original call to police.
Additional testimony and records presented during the trial detailed previous physical abuse and a pattern of controlling, verbal and psychological abuse directed toward the woman.
The Comal County District Attorney’s Office credited the two victims for coming forward and testifying and thanked the New Braunfels Police Department for its investigation.