NEW BOSTON, Texas-A Bowie County judge sentenced a repeat offender to 30 years in prison Thursday for burglary.
Travalyn Aldridge, 31, chose to have his case decided by a judge rather than a jury. After hearing witness testimony Tuesday, 102nd District Judge Bobby Lockhart found Aldridge guilty of burglary of a habitation for breaking into the attached garage of a Nash, Texas, couple's Pecan Valley Circle home June 2.
After hearing from five previous victims and neighbors of an elderly victim, Lockhart handed down a 30-year term.
Kath-erine and Michael Rhoden testified they were at their Wake Village home on an evening in 2007 when Katherine Rhoden noticed a young man she had never seen before walk in and out of their 73-year-old neighbor's garage across the street. Katherine Rhoden called for her husband, and Michael Rhoden confronted the stranger, who was later identified as Aldridge.
Michael Rhoden said Aldridge walked forward and claimed he was looking for his cousin. That is the same explanation Aldridge gave Ben Groom when Groom caught him in his garage June 2. Groom testified Tuesday during the guilt/innocence phase of Aldridge's trial.
Other witnesses testified Thursday about auto and garage thefts for which Aldridge was previously convicted. Court records in Miller County, Ark., show Aldridge has multiple pending felony charges of debit/credit card theft, residential burglary and fraudulent use of a credit card.
"Our citizens have the right to expect safety and security in their homes, a right Travalyn Aldridge routinely violated on his way to collecting nine felony convictions. Judge Lockhart's sentence demonstrates Bowie County's lack of tolerance for burglary of a home and all serious felony offenses," Assistant District Attorney Kelley Crisp said. "The District Attorney's office thanks the victims and witnesses for their courage in testifying to the facts which sent Aldridge to prison."