Lester James Blackshear

Lester James Blackshear (born June 19, 1961 in Bryan, Texas) is a black American convicted domestic abuser, child abuser, thief and trespasser currently charged with assault causing bodily injury family violence with a prior conviction as a habitual offender and is facing 25 to 99 years in prison or life with the possibility of parole after thirty years. He has eight felony and fifteen misdemeanor convictions, with the longest sentence he has received being three years, and at least three of his probations have been revoked. Five of his felony convictions and two of his misdemeanor convictions are for assaultive offenses, and all but one are in relation to domestic violence or child abuse. He first pled guilty to theft under twenty dollars on July 27, 1985 and was sentenced to an unspecified amount of time in jail or on probation. On February 2, 1988, he pled guilty to forgery by passing (a felony) and was sentenced to an unspecified amount of probation. His probation was later revoked and he was sentenced to two years in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. He pled guilty to possession of drug paraphernalia on July 10, 1992 and was sentenced to serve an unspecified amount of time in the Brazos County Detention Center. He pled guilty to assault causing bodily injury on July 30, 1993 and was again sentenced to jail time. He pled guilty to failure to identify himself to a peace officer on February 21, 1994 and was sentenced to jail. He pled guilty to criminal trespass on October 7, 1994 and was sentenced to jail. He pled guilty to evading arrest on June 1, 1995 and was sentenced to a suspended term of up to 180 days in jail and placed on probation for one year with the requirement to perform forty hours of community service as a condition of his probation. He also pled guilty to criminal trespass and was sentenced to jail time. He pled guilty to making a false alarm/report on September 18, 1995 and was sentenced to thirty days in jail. He pled true to violating his probation for evading arrest on June 11, 1996 and was sentenced to 130 days in jail. He pled guilty to injury to a child (a felony) on November 4, 1997 and was sentenced to eighteen months in a state jail facility. He also pled guilty to criminal mischief (vandalism) of property twenty dollars or more but less than five hundred dollars and criminal trespass of a habitation and received two 130 day sentences. All three sentences would run concurrently.

He pled guilty to assault causing bodily injury family violence (assaulting his sister) on May 9, 2001 and was sentenced to a suspended term of up to 365 days in jail and placed on probation for two years. He was required to pay a $500 fine, submit to intensive outpatient alcohol counseling, attend Alcoholics Anonymous twice a week, write a letter of apology and perform one hundred hours of community service as conditions of his probation. He pled true to violating his probation on September 4, 2003 and was sentenced to ninety-eight days in jail. He pled guilty to two counts of theft of fifty dollars or more but less than five hundred dollars on September 2, 2004 and was given concurrent sentences of one hundred days in jail. He pled guilty for a second time to injury to a child (striking a child with his hand) on April 12, 2006 and was sentenced to three years in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. He also pled guilty to criminal trespass and was sentenced to 180 days in jail to run concurrently. He pled guilty to evading arrest with a prior conviction (a felony) on March 30, 2012 and was sentenced to sixty days in jail. He also pled guilty to interfering with an emergency call and was sentenced to forty-five days to run concurrently. He pled guilty to assault causing bodily injury family violence with a prior conviction (pepper spraying the sister he previously assaulted) and tampering with evidence (attempting to hide a crack pipe) on January 23, 2013 and received concurrent sentences of two years TDCJ. He pled guilty to aggravated assault with a deadly weapon family violence on November 15, 2017 (attempting to stab his brother with a seven inch knife and threatening him with garden shears) and was sentenced to two years TDCJ. He pled guilty for a second time to assault causing bodily injury family violence with a prior conviction (striking the same brother with a sharp object and a piece of wood or stick) on October 21, 2019 and was sentenced to three years TDCJ (his sentence for aggravated assault had already been served, and he had more than two years jail credit towards his three year sentence since his arrest in September 2017).

On March 16, 2021, less than six months after his release from prison, he was arrested for assaulting his brother a third time by cutting him with a knife or bladed instrument. He was released on $18,000 bond (he had to pay a bond company ten percent) on April 3, 2021 and was indicted for assault causing bodily injury family violence with a prior conviction as a habitual offender on April 23, 2021. Assault causing bodily injury family violence with a prior conviction is a third degree felony punishable by up to ten years in prison, but it becomes a second degree felony punishable by up to twenty years if the state files an enhancement paragraph alleging one prior prison sentence and it becomes a first degree felony punishable by 25 to 99 years or life if enhancement paragraphs alleging two prior prison sentences are filed. He was first charged as a habitual offender in relation to his initial charge of assault causing bodily injury family violence with a prior conviction, but as part of his plea agreement in that case and subsequent cases until now, one or both of the enhancement paragraphs were waived by the state. His trial is scheduled to begin on January 30, 2023 and the state has filed a notice of intent to introduce twenty-one of his prior convictions (not including his conviction for assault causing bodily injury and his conviction for making a false alarm/report, most likely due to documentation issues) and his three probation revocations during the punishment phase of trial in the event of conviction. He has the right to decide whether punishment will be imposed by the judge or jury.

Felonies and assaultive convictions (including current charge):

Forgery by passing- Sentenced to probation, probation revoked and sentenced to two years TDCJ

Assault causing bodily injury- Sentenced to county jail

Injury to a child- Sentenced to eighteen months state jail

Assault causing bodily injury family violence- Sentenced to two years probation, probation revoked and sentenced to ninety-eight days county jail

Injury to a child- Sentenced to three years TDCJ

Evading arrest with a prior conviction- Sentenced to sixty days county jail

Assault causing bodily injury family violence with a prior conviction- Sentenced to two years TDCJ (Weapon used: Pepper spray)

Tampering with evidence- Sentenced to two years TDCJ

Aggravated assault with a deadly weapon family violence- Sentenced to two years TDCJ (Weapons used: Seven inch knife and garden shears)

Assault causing bodily injury family violence with a prior conviction- Sentenced to three years TDCJ (Weapons used: Sharp object and a piece of wood or stick)

Assault causing bodily injury family violence with a prior conviction- Facing 25 to 99 years or life in prison (Weapon used: Knife or bladed instrument)