NEW BOSTON, Texas-A Bowie County jury sentenced a former member of the National Guard to 35 years in prison Friday for breaking into a female Guardsman's hotel room in 2014.
Ronnie Ricks Jr., 33, was found guilty of burglary of a habitation with the intent to commit sexual assault. Ricks and a group of other National Guard members were staying at the Holiday Inn Express in New Boston, where they had attended training Nov. 15, 2014, according to a probable cause affidavit used to create the following account. When the day officially ended, a number of the Guardsmen ate dinner together at a local restaurant and then began drinking and socializing.
When a female Guardsman became noticeably intoxicated, friends walked her to room 311, helped her onto the bed, and left the room with the door locked behind them at about 11:30 p.m. The following morning, the female Guardsman became suspicious that something had happened to her while she was sleeping off the effects of drinking.
Video surveillance showed she had been in her room for about half an hour when Ricks approached the hotel's front desk and acquired a third key for the female
Guardsman's room shortly before midnight. In the video, Ricks is wearing his wedding ring.
Two keys, one for the female Guardsman and one for her roommate had been previously issued. The following morning, the female Guardsman discovered a man's wedding ring on her nightstand which was later determined to belong to Ricks.
"We're very pleased that our jury understood the importance of this case," said First Assistant District Attorney Mike Shepherd, who prosecuted the case with Assistant District Attorney Katie Carter.
"An individual who betrayed the trust of a new soldier in such a heinous way must be removed from our community," Shepherd said.
Carter said Ricks did not receive an honorable discharge from the National Guard.