Two men accused of holding down a 14-year-old girl so they could sexually assault her in a Texarkana, Texas, apartment in 2014 appeared Thursday afternoon in a Bowie County courtroom.
Tevin Trevon Willis, 21, aka T-Will, and Rickey Mask, 22, allegedly stopped by an apartment where the 14-year-old was visiting a friend, according to probable cause affidavits. Willis and Mask left after a short while but allegedly returned later when the 14-year-old was alone because the girl she was visiting went to another apartment for a brief visit with a relative.
One of the men allegedly held the girl down while the other removed her clothing. The two men allegedly took turns restraining the girl while the other sexually assaulted her.
Willis and Mask appeared separately before 102nd District Judge Bobby Lockhart shortly after the lunch hour Thursday in a first-floor courtroom of the Bi-State Justice Building. Assistant District Attorney Kelley Crisp told Lockhart that efforts to resolve Willis' case at the pretrial level have been unsuccessful, partly because of a pending rape case Willis has in Miller County, Ark.
"The victim is not willing to agree to any type of a package deal at all," Crisp said of resolving Willis' cases in both states with a plea deal that might include concurrent sentences. "Miller County has agreed to let the state of Texas try its case first."
Willis is accused of forcibly raping a Texarkana, Ark., woman he didn't know May 12, 2014, just a few months before he and Mask allegedly attacked the teen in Texarkana, Texas. The alleged victim in Miller County told investigators she and a friend were sharing a glass of wine in her Texarkana, Ark., apartment when Willis came in asking for a cigarette and permission to use the restroom around 1 a.m., according to a probable cause affidavit. The woman said she only knew Willis, whom she had seen around her complex, as T-Will. The woman said her friend left while Willis was in the bathroom and that when he came out, she told him he needed to leave.
Willis allegedly tried to kiss the woman and headed toward the front door when she pushed him away.
"He locked the door and turned and struck her in the face with his elbow," the Miller County affidavit states. "He then pushed her on the couch and pulled off her shorts and underwear."
Willis is represented by Texarkana lawyer Derric McFarland in the Bowie County case. Lockhart told Crisp and McFarland to be ready for jury selection March 15.
Mask appeared before Lockhart with First Assistant Public Defender Will Williams. Mask's case is scheduled for trial in July.
Willis and Mask are each charged with two counts of sexual assault in Bowie County. The offense is punishable by two to 20 years in a Texas prison. Crisp told Lockhart the state has filed a motion in Willis' case to have any sentences he receives on the two counts run consecutively, meaning Willis could face up to 40 years in the Bowie County case.
Willis' case in Miller County remains pending. He faces 10 to 40 years or life in an Arkansas prison if convicted of rape in Miller County. Both Mask and Willis are free on $50,000 bonds in Bowie County. Willis posted a $50,000 bond in Miller County as well.