Arrogant Woman’s Priceless Reaction After Hearing Her Massive Prison Sentence

[00:00:00] Speaker 1: You've been on probation before, and a motion to revoke was filed, and you were revoked and sentenced to five years. And then in 2014, you were sent to prison for another case. 2015, there's a case that you were sent to prison for, and I'm viewing, it doesn't appear that you would be a good candidate for probation. Why do you keep filling that probation? Oh, it was parole, the second. Well, I mean, you failed at probation, and you failed at parole. Why? [00:00:33] Speaker 2: Welcome to the Court of Justice. [00:00:37] Speaker 1: 2024 CR008052, State v. Samantha Venegas. Could I have parties announced? [00:00:46] Speaker 3: Jason Garrett, I'm in the state, Your Honor. [00:00:48] Speaker 4: Danny Callahan, the fence. [00:00:50] Speaker 1: And are you Ms. Venegas? Yes, ma'am. You entered a plea to count two on March 26th. You entered a plea of no contest. According to your plea bargain agreement, punishment is to be assessed at a cap of 15 years in the prison. There's a $2,000 fine. State opposes your application for community supervision and deferred adjudication. They're taking in consideration 2024 CR008054. Have both parties had a chance to review the PSI report and top evaluation? [00:01:23] Speaker 3: Yes, Your Honor. [00:01:24] Speaker 4: Yes, Your Honor. [00:01:25] Speaker 1: Any objections, state or defense? [00:01:27] Speaker 4: No, Your Honor. No, Your Honor. [00:01:29] Speaker 1: Any witnesses, state? Defense, any witnesses? [00:01:32] Speaker 4: Only allocation in writing from the defendant. [00:01:36] Speaker 1: All right. Any objections to the court reviewing the defendant's writing? [00:01:41] Speaker 3: No, Your Honor. The state has actually reviewed me. No objection. [00:01:45] Speaker ?: All right. [00:01:45] Speaker 1: All right. The court will hear argument. Well, before I hear argument, there are some things that defense maybe you can address with the court. It says in the PSI that her guilt is minimized, and I did read where she's saying that the vehicle's not hers. She knew there was drugs in the trunk, but she didn't throw them away. She didn't do anything about it. So I don't know if there's any insight you would like to give on that. [00:02:13] Speaker 4: Yes, Your Honor. I think it's a good inference from the stipulations and the PSI that she was used as a pawn, taking advantage of her poverty and her addictions to methamphetamine. And she's ashamed of that in her life, not only you, but more particularly to her family. There is an element of voluntariness in her actions. There's also an element of being trapped in her actions. And that was one of the things I would ask the court to consider before you assess punishment. I have three other remarks. [00:02:53] Speaker 1: All right. You may proceed. [00:02:56] Speaker 4: And I suggest to the court as a proper resolution of this case, because she's still relatively young, deferred adjudication, 10 years, ISF treatment. And she asks you to put her into drug court, which is intensive supervision for every day. That shows some indication of remorse and desire to be rehabilitated. [00:03:23] Speaker 1: All right. So here's part of my issues, right? Yes, ma'am. One, I have to look at criminal history. And I would have clients sometimes, you know what they would tell me? Why are people looking at my criminal history? We're just here for this. That was in the past. But I would always tell them that your criminal history is sort of like a credit report. And what you're trying to get is probation. So people are trying to say, has she been placed on probation before? You know, will she do well? So it shows that you've been on probation before and a motion to revoke was filed and you revoke and sentenced to five years. I know that was in 2007. [00:04:05] Speaker ?: Right. [00:04:05] Speaker 1: And then in 2014, you were sent to prison for another case. And in 2015, there's a case that you were sent to prison for. And I believe these were running concurrently because it appears that they were running concurrently. And then 2016, again, that's a case that was running concurrently with the others. So what I'm viewing, it doesn't appear that you would be a good candidate for probation. [00:04:35] Speaker 5: May I say something? [00:04:37] Speaker 1: Sure. You want to raise your right hand, though? Because the state may have some questions if you want to say something. All right. Do you solemnly swear or affirm the testimony you give will be the truth and nothing but the truth to help you, God? [00:04:48] Samantha Benavides: I do. [00:04:48] Speaker 1: All right. You can lower your hand. State your name for the record. [00:04:50] Samantha Benavides: My name is Samantha Benavides. I know. Okay. I did. In 2010, I went to prison. I was going to get reinstated on probation, but I took it up with my grandfather. And my grandfather wanted me to go do the time instead of being reinstated on my probation because he was scared that I was going to get messed up again and go do a large number of time and he was going to pass away. [00:05:15] Speaker 1: And how old were you when that happened? [00:05:17] Samantha Benavides: I was 29, 30. And so that's why I chose that. I chose that because my grandpa asked me to do that, and he ended up passing away six months before my release. But that is why I was going to get reinstated. At the time, my attorney was William Reese, and they were going to reinstate me and send me home, but my grandfather asked me to get it over with. [00:05:39] Speaker 1: That is why I went to prison. All right. So you're telling me that I could understand maybe they're bringing pressure on you with saying, oh, let me listen to my grandfather and take this time. But at the time, you were 29, 30. Okay. [00:05:54] Speaker 5: Yeah. [00:05:55] Speaker 1: And then the other cases, because you got out of prison, and then you pick up more cases. [00:06:00] Samantha Benavides: In 2014, I revoked my parole, and I went back to ISF. For the last three months of my parole, and then I was done with that. And then in 2016, I went to prison again in 2016. And then I revoked and went back to safety, and I came out, and I completed the rest of my probation. [00:06:27] Speaker 1: Okay. Why do you keep failing at probation? With parole. Well, I mean, you failed at probation, and you failed at parole. Why? [00:06:35] Samantha Benavides: The first time when I was younger, I really don't have, you know, I made, I made some poor choices in my life back then. And I was, I was young. [00:06:47] Speaker 1: I was, I was, I was ignorant. But no, for the case that you said, you, the first case, you said, I disagreed to be revoked because of my grandfather. [00:06:58] Speaker 5: Yeah. [00:06:59] Speaker 1: All right. You're telling me then you were 29. [00:07:01] Samantha Benavides: Yes. I didn't go report. All right. I didn't go report. And I, I had a drinking problem back then. And back then I would use cocaine a little and, but I had a heavy drinking problem. So I was young. I was stupid. I was living in the bars, basically. And I, I wasn't, you know, out there running the streets or anything like that. I just didn't want to go report. And that was my, my biggest downfall right there. If I would have just went and reported and went and taken to UA, everything would have been okay. My life would have been a little bit, you know, different. The other time when I got out, I violated parole. It was because I came out of the dirty way. [00:07:51] Speaker 1: Okay. Let me ask you this, because I understand your past. Do you know the amount of drugs this was, the weight of it? Yes, ma'am. I do. It's a lot, right? Yes, ma'am. Okay. You can continue. [00:08:05] Samantha Benavides: My life, for a little while, I was just, it was, I made a lot of mistakes, and I'm not proud of it. I'm very sorry for them. If I could take a mile back, I would. Now that I'm older, now that I see, see things differently. And trust me, this is open my eyes. I was doing a lot, you know, I was, I was just trying to, this last offense, it was something, it was just, I got, I was trying to, you know, pay, get by, pay my bills. I was, I was, I was, I was stuck in it. I was just trying to get out of it. And I see now that, what it costs me, what it could cost me. And I apologize for that. [00:09:01] Speaker 1: No, but here's the thing. You had a previous drug case. Yes, ma'am. So I don't understand why you continue to try to build your happiness off somebody else's misery. And when you sell drugs, that's basically what you're doing. You're taking a shortcut and you're building your happiness off somebody else's misery who has a drug addiction and can't stop. And there you are, giving them drugs for money. [00:09:26] Speaker 5: You're right. [00:09:26] Speaker 1: All right. State, do you have any questions? [00:09:30] Speaker 3: Just back to this case. [00:09:32] Speaker 1: Okay. [00:09:34] Speaker 3: Ms. Conegas, on this case, you stated that the drugs weren't yours or the drugs were somebody else's? [00:09:42] Speaker 5: It was in the vehicle. [00:09:45] Samantha Benavides: All right. Could you speak up, please? It wasn't my news in the vehicle, but I was aware that it was in it. And I should have gotten rid of it when I opened it. [00:09:53] Speaker 3: You had a key in your pocket that matched the lock to the box that the drugs were in. Yes. Okay. That was a good question. [00:10:00] Speaker 4: Nothing further. I have one other point, Your Honor. Yes. She has family support and was unable to get finalized letters into your hand indicating that support. That's all, Your Honor. [00:10:20] Speaker 1: All right. Ms. Benegas. Yes, Benegas. The amount of drugs in this case is, let me see, over 400 grams. [00:10:37] Speaker 5: Yes, ma'am. [00:10:38] Speaker 1: And from what I read in the police report, you're a seller of drugs. And this whole thing about the drugs being in your boyfriend's car and you don't know, you knew the drugs were in your boyfriend's car and you should have got rid of them, but you didn't. It doesn't ring true based upon what I read in the police report because according to the police report, you're known as a trafficker of drugs. That's what it says in the police report, that's what it says in the police report and those were, that's what was stipulated to. I don't think you're a good candidate for probation. The court is going to find you guilty. The court will sentence you to 15 years in the prison. There's a $2,000 fine. Time and money will run concurrently. The court will take in consideration 2024 CR 008054. I'll suggest the therapeutic community. Did you review the document entitled Trial Court Certification of Defendants' Rights to Appeal with your attorney? Did you understand it? Yes, ma'am. And did you sign it? Yes, ma'am. All right, because this is a plea bargaining agreement, because I followed your plea bargaining agreement, because you waive your right to appeal, you do not have the court's permission to appeal. Excuse me. [00:11:50] Speaker ?: Thank you. [00:11:52] Speaker 1: Thank you. Because this is a felony conviction, you're not allowed to own or possess any weapons or ammunition. If you have a question over what a weapon or ammunition is, you'll need to speak to an attorney. Do you understand? All right, good luck to you. [00:12:04] Speaker 4: May I address the court and she would like drug therapy. [00:12:07] Speaker 1: All right, I'll add the therapeutic community. [00:12:11] Speaker 4: Yeah, one more thing, Your Honor. Yes. Would the court entertain a delay in imposition of sentence one week and let her go and take care of her affairs? [00:12:21] Speaker 1: No. [00:12:22] Speaker 4: Thank you, Your Honor. [00:12:23] Speaker 1: All right, thank you. All right, the court is calling 2026 CR 007404, State v. Veronica Valenzuela. Can I have parties announced? [00:12:32] Speaker 5: Yes, the state. [00:12:33] Speaker 7: And Jonathan Alvarado for the defense. [00:12:35] Speaker 1: And are you, Ms. Valenzuela? Yes. Counsel, you received all discovery. Did you review it with your client? [00:12:40] Speaker 7: I did, Judge. [00:12:40] Speaker 1: The court will find that the state is in compliance with discovery. Ms. Valenzuela, did you review the application for deferred adjudication with your attorney? Did you understand it and sign it? [00:12:49] Speaker 5: Yes, Judge. [00:12:49] Speaker 1: Did you review the true bill of indictment with your attorney? Did you understand it? Yes. Counsel, do you weigh the reading? I do, Judge. State, it appears that you're proceeding on the indictment as presented. Is that correct? Yes, Your Honor. Okay. Did you review the court's admonishments with your attorney? Did you understand it and sign it in all the appropriate places? Yes. You're charged with possession of a controlled substance penalty for one, one to four grams. That's a third degree felony. Range of punishment is anywhere from two to ten years in prison and up to $10,000 fine. If you have a plea, I do not have to follow your plea. If I don't follow your plea and give you more than you bargained for, the fact that you entered a plea will not be used against you. And you will be allowed to withdraw your plea. You have a right to jury trial, a right for you or your attorney to cross-examine and confront any witnesses the state would call in the right to remain silent. By entering this plea, you're giving up those rights. Did you intend to give up those rights and enter into a plea in this case? Counsel, has your client been able to provide any defenses? [00:13:43] Speaker 3: She has, Your Honor. [00:13:44] Speaker 1: Do you believe she has a rational as well as a factual understanding of the charges against her? I do, Judge. Do you believe she's currently competent and was legally sane at the time of the offense? I do, Judge. Ms. Valenzuela, has anyone threatened you, coerced you, or placed you in fear to get you to enter the plea? [00:13:57] Speaker 5: No. [00:13:58] Speaker 1: Anyone promise you anything other than the plea? Are you satisfied with the way you've been represented? [00:14:02] Speaker 5: Yes. [00:14:03] Speaker 1: If you're not a U.S. citizen, by entering this plea, you will be deported, denied naturalization, and re-entry. Did you understand? [00:14:09] Speaker ?: Yes. [00:14:09] Speaker 1: Court will find that defendant has knowingly and voluntarily waived her right to jury trial. Did you review the plea bargain page with your attorney? Did you understand it? Yes. According to the plea, punishment is to be assessed at an $800 fine probated. The state recommends deferred adjudication. They're taking in consideration 2026 PF31913 and 2026 PF31914, and there's $120 restitution to the Bexar County Crime Lab for testing. Did you understand that to be the plea? [00:14:40] Speaker 7: Yes. [00:14:40] Speaker 1: State defense, is that the plea? [00:14:42] Speaker 7: Yes, Judge. [00:14:43] Speaker 1: Yes, Judge. Did you review the waiver of appeal paragraph with your attorney? Did you understand it and sign it in both places? Yes. By signing that, you're waiving your right to appeal. The only items that can be appealed are written pretrial motions that have been filed, heard, and ruled upon by the court. Did you understand? [00:14:56] Speaker 5: Yes. [00:14:57] Speaker 1: Any such motions? [00:14:58] Speaker 5: No, Judge. [00:14:58] Speaker 1: Outside the agreement, the state is recommending that your deferred adjudication be for a term of five years. There be a tap evaluation, 100 hours of community service restitution, random UAs, the DOEP course, MRT, and a felony drug court referral. Did you understand those were recommendations from the state, and the court does not have to follow those recommendations? Yes. Then, to the offense, how do you plead guilty, not guilty, or no contest? State, any evidence? Are you offering states exhibits wanting attachments? Yes, Judge. [00:15:28] Speaker ?: Yes, Judge. [00:15:28] Speaker 1: No objections. All right. Thank you, State. State, you may be excused. Thank you. Did you review the waiver and stipulations with your attorney? Did you understand it and sign it in all the appropriate places? Yes. Again, did you understand you have a right to jury trial, a right for you or your attorney to cross-examine and confront any witnesses the state would call in the right to remain silent? [00:15:46] Speaker 5: Yes. [00:15:46] Speaker 1: Did you understand that today the state will be presenting evidence in the form of witnesses, statements, and police reports, but most importantly, there will be no live testimony. Did you understand? Yes. Court will find that defendant has knowingly and voluntarily waived and consented to stipulation of testimony and stipulations. Court will accept into evidence states exhibits wanting attachments and review the same. Okay. After reviewing states exhibits wanting attachments, the court will find there is sufficient evidence to find you guilty. Court will defer finding of guilt as you've applied for deferred adjudication. Are you proceeding with sentencing? Yes, Judge. Okay. Anything you wish to say on behalf of your client? Yeah, I would just ask you to follow the plea bargain. Okay. Probation, this is an application in San Veronica, Valenzuela. Okay. [00:16:49] Speaker ?: All right. [00:16:49] Speaker 1: So how often have you been using? [00:16:50] Speaker 5: Up until I got arrested. [00:16:52] Speaker 1: How often though? Every day. Every day. All right. [00:16:57] Speaker 5: Do you have any children? [00:16:58] Speaker 1: I do, but they're older. They're older. Do you have any grandchildren? No. All right. And when you say you have children, but they're older, are they still minors or are they adults? Okay. So are you employed? When's the last time you had employment? [00:17:10] Speaker 5: It's been 2004. [00:17:18] Speaker 1: So do you have any family support? I just need to get in contact with them. [00:17:26] Speaker 5: Okay. It's just a matter of getting in contact with them. Okay. I just chose to keep myself holding them, but it's just not getting in contact with them. Okay. And how old are you? I'm four. [00:17:34] Speaker 1: All right. And when's the first time you ever used? [00:17:37] Speaker 5: I was when I was 36. Okay. [00:17:39] Speaker 1: Why did you start using? What was going on? [00:17:43] Speaker 5: Friends. Just where I worked at. It was just a bad time in my life and it just turned it back. It was really ridiculous. I've been glad I never used before that. [00:17:52] Speaker 1: Okay. So have you had to do certain things to support your habit? [00:17:58] Speaker 5: No. No. Well, I mean, no. Okay. All right. [00:18:06] Speaker 7: I can tell you that she is not a convicted felon. One of the reasons I received an offer for my conversations with her. She's got a good head on her shoulder, Veronica does. I think obviously she's having a really hard time with drugs. She needs that help. [00:18:22] Speaker 1: All right. Court is going to sentence you to five years deferred adjudication, regular reporting by Zoom or in person, regular UAs. In custody, I'm going to want a referral to felony drug court. Be very important. I mean, be very honest with them about your drug use and how often it's been. The way you told me it's been daily before you were taken into custody. You need to let them know that because of funding, they have limited funds. And so they're only taking, you know, the hardest cases right now. Okay. So that will be in custody, TAP evaluation in custody. Follow TAP recommendations. If not accepted into felony drug court. There's to be no unsupervised contact with minors. I'm going to want field visits one time per month until further notice. There's an $800 fine that will be probated taking consideration 2026 PF31913 and 2026 PF31914. There's to be a $120 restitution to the Bexar County crime lab for drug testing. [00:19:52] Speaker ?: There's to be a $2,000 right? There's to be a $2,000 right? There's to be a $4,000 right? There's to be a $2,000 right? There's to be a $1,000 right? There's to be a $1,000 right? [00:19:57] Speaker 1: There's to be a $1,000 right? There's to be a $1,000 right? There's to be a $1,000 right? There's to be a $1,000 right? There's to be $1,000 right? There's to be $1,000 right? [00:20:03] Speaker 5: There's to be $1,000 right? There's to be $1,000 right? There's to be $1,000 right? There's to be $1,000 right? There's to be $1,000 right? There's to be $1,000 right? There's to be $1,000 right? There's to be $1,000 right? There's to be $1,000 right? [00:20:12] Speaker 1: There's to be $1,000 right? There's to be $1,000 right? There's to be $1,000 right? There's to be $1,000 right? [00:20:16] Speaker ?: There's to be $1,000 right? [00:20:17] Speaker 1: There's to be $1,000 right? There's to be $1,000 right? There's to be $1,000 right? There's to be $1,000 right? There's to be $1,000 right? [00:20:22] Speaker ?: There's to be $1,000 right? There's to be $1,000 right? There's to be $1,000 right? There's to be $1,000 right? [00:20:26] Speaker 5: There's to be $1,000 right? There's to be $1,000 right? [00:20:28] Speaker 1: There's to be $1,000 right? There's to be $1,000 right? There's to be $1,000 right? There's to be $1,000 right? There's to be $1,000 right? [00:20:33] Speaker ?: There's to be $1,000 right? There's to be $1,000 right? [00:20:35] Speaker 5: There's to be $1,000 right? There's to be $1,000 right? There's to be $1,000 right? There's to be $1,000 right? [00:20:39] Speaker 1: There's to be $1,000 right? [00:20:40] Speaker ?: There's to be $1,000 right? There's to be $1,000 right? There's to be $1,000 right? [00:20:43] Speaker 1: There's to be $1,000 right? There's to be $1,000 right? There's to be $1,000 right? There's to be $1,000 right? There's to be $1,000 right? There's to be $1,000 right? There's to be $1,000 right? There's to be $1,000 right? There's to be $1,000 right? There's to be $1,000 right? There's to be $1,000 right? There's to be $1,000 right? There's to be $1,000 right? There's to be $1,000 right? There's to be $1,000 right? There's to be $1,000 right? There's to be $1,000 right? There's to be $1,000 right? There's to be $1,000 right? There's to be $1,000 right? There's to be $1,000 right? [00:21:04] Speaker 5: There's to be $1,000 right? [00:21:05] Speaker 1: There's to be $1,000 right? There's to be $1,000 right? There's to be $1,000 right? There's to be $1,000 right? [00:21:09] Speaker 5: There's to be $1,000 right? [00:21:10] Speaker 1: There's to be $1,000 right? There's to be $1,000 right? There's to be $1,000 right? There's to be $1,000 right? There's to be $1,000 right? There's to be $1,000 right? There's to be $1,000 right? There's to be $1,000 right? There's to be $1,000 right? There's to be $1,000 right? Okay. Anything else? Probation? Okay. All right. Is there anything else you need from the court in order to be successful? No, Judge. All right. Did you review the document entitled Trial Court Certification of Defendants' Rights to Appeal with your attorney? Did you understand it and sign it? Yes. All right. Because this is a plea bargain agreement, because I followed your plea bargain agreement, and because you waived your right to appeal, you do not have the court's permission to appeal. And Ms. Abrams, based upon the stipulations, can you tell me why did you have that knife with you? [00:21:52] Speaker 5: I just wanted to. [00:21:54] Speaker 1: Okay. Ms. Abrams, do you want to do no possession of firearms? Yes. All right. So we'll add no possession of firearms. All right. I'm going to tell you what I told the other person before me. Number one, you still have the best years of your life ahead of you if you make it so. Number two, guess what? If you're riding a bicycle, you've got to follow the rules of the road. That means that the hand signals for when you're turning left or right, you've got to make them. Otherwise, you're going to get pulled over if somebody wants to pull you over, right? All right. Counselor, if you can give me the dismissals to sign. [00:22:33] Speaker 5: Ah, here we are. [00:22:35] Speaker 7: There's a couple of other additional cases the state's going to be dismissing outright as well, Judge. Okay. [00:22:41] Speaker 1: Let me do that. Let me put it in here. Because sometimes things get lost, and if something were to happen, it's always in the system, and anybody can look it up that I signed it. [00:23:03] Speaker ?: I'm going to put it in here. I'm going to put it in here. I'm going to put it in here. I'm going to put it in here. I'm going to put it in here. I'm going to put it in here. I'm going to put it in here. I'm going to put it in here. I'm going to put it in here. I'm going to put it in here. I'm going to put it in here. I'm going to put it in here. I'm going to put it in here. I'm going to put it in here. I'm going to put it in here. I'm going to put it in here. I'm going to put it in here. I'm going to put it in here. I'm going to put it in here. I'm going to put it in here. [00:23:33] Speaker 1: All right, good luck to you. Thank you, Judge. You're welcome. [00:23:43] Speaker 2: Samantha Vanegas stood in Judge Stephanie Boyd's courtroom, hoping for one last chance. Drug court. Deferred adjudication. A shot at redemption. But Judge Boyd wasn't buying it. With a criminal history spanning 2007, 2014, 2015, and 2016, failed probations and carols, Samantha's plea fell apart under scrutiny. She blamed her grandfather for her first prison stint. She blamed youth and ignorance for the rest. But Judge Boyd saw through it all. "You're building your happiness off somebody else's misery," she said, her voice cutting through the courtroom. With over 400 grams of drugs and a police report labeling her a trafficker, the judge found her guilty and sentenced her to 15 years. Samantha's request for one week to get her affairs in order? Denied. "Good luck to you," Judge Boyd said. Cold, final, and unwavering. Justice was served.