Bexar County District Attorney Nicholas “Nico” LaHood tried a case Tuesday involving a defendant who robbed a woman who was nine months pregnant, but it quickly took a turn when the man pleaded guilty, was sentenced to 20 years, and his victim told him to turn his life around.
Assistant District Attorney Jason Goss prosecuted the case with LaHood, who took the lead in jury selection Monday and read the charge of the court to the panel Tuesday.
De Vonjae Smoots, 21, had been accused of aggravated robbery and breaking into the home of Ambrosia Spruill around 9:30 p.m. Nov. 13, 2016, in the 4000 block of Sunrise Creek on the Northeast Side. She said he held her at gunpoint and threatened to kill her if she called police or did not comply with his wishes.
Smoots was arrested the next day on a burglary charge, and police found him with some of Spruill’s belongings. She identified him from a photo lineup.
Smoots entered a plea of not guilty before Judge Joey Contreras, who presided over the case in the 187th state District Court.
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In his opening statement, Goss told the jury the case was about “somebody’s worst nightmare,” a mother of three about to give birth, home alone, who discovered an intruder who threatened to kill her and her unborn child.
“She did whatever it took to survive,” Goss said.
Spruill, a graveyard shift guard at a federal detention facility, testified that she stayed home that night because she was 36 weeks into her pregnancy and didn't feel well. Her husband and three children were not at the home.
She said she was awakened by her dog barking and the smell of cigarettes. She did not allow anyone to smoke in her home.
“I saw a male figure in the closet. He had a flashlight,” she told the jury. “I played possum and made like I was asleep.”
Spruill said she tried numerous times to contact her husband and other relatives by phone and, when she thought the man had left the house, she got up and let her dog inside.
Then, when the two came face-to-face, Smoots brandished a gun.
“Once he pointed the gun at my stomach, I started to panic,” Spruill told the jury.
She said when her dog saw Smoots and began barking, he pointed the gun at the dog. Spruill then grabbed the barrel of the gun as the two struggled, and the gun fired, a bullet going through the mattress of her bed.
No one was hit, but Spruill had cuts and gunpowder residue on her hands.
Scared and fearing she would be killed, Spruill decided to talk to Smoots, calm him and help him steal her own things — even helping him carry a flat screen TV outside — so he wouldn’t kill her.
“I thought, ‘I have kids to live for,’” she told the jury.
After a midday break from testimony, Smoots’ attorney Alan Futrell told Contreras, Goss and LaHood that his client had changed his mind and decided to plead guilty.
Before sentencing, the judge had some words for the defendant.
“You started off very young, and this would easily have become capital murder if she had run off or called 911,” Contreras told Smoots. You’re a very lucky man. Go do your time, and grow up.”
With agreement from the state, Contreras sentenced Smoots to 20 years in prison on the aggravated robbery charge and 20 years for an unrelated burglary charge. The sentences will be served at the same time.
Spruill also had words for Smoots.
“This situation affected both of our lives,” she told Smoots. “I want you to make better decisions.”
Smoots will have to serve at least 10 years before being eligible for parole.
This is the fourth case LaHood has tried since his election in 2014. His office stated that his original goal was to prosecute at least two cases a year.
Last year, two trials ended with the defendants taking pleas, and one murder case ended in a mistrial, shortly after defense attorneys alleged prosecutorial misconduct and threats by LaHood, who has disputed the accusations.
Elizabeth Zavala is a San Antonio Express-News staff writer. Read more of her stories here. | ezavala@express-news.net | @elizabeth2863