District Attorney Micheal Murray reported that on Thursday, April 10th a Brown County jury convicted Dempsey Webb, 41, of Burglary of a Habitation with Intent to Commit Sexual Assault.  The trial Judge, a visiting judge from Tom Green County, sentenced Webb to 44 years incarceration in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.

Assistant District Attorney Elisha Bird presented evidence during the trial that on April 30, 2013, Dempsey Webb broke into the residence of a Brown County citizen by climbing through an open window in the middle of the night and sexually assaulting the citizen.  The Brownwood Police Department responded to the scene immediately after the burglary.  The Police Department located fingerprints on a cup belonging to the victim and determined that the cup had been moved by the person who broke into the house in order to crawl in through the window.  Those fingerprints were determined by Brownwood Police Detective Brian Tompkins to belong to Dempsey Webb.    Detective Tompkins also submitted the fingerprints to Investigator Vance Hill of the Brown County Sheriff’s Office and a forensic scientist with the Texas Department of Public Safety Crime Laboratory.  Jurors also heard evidence of two similar incidents where Webb was accused of breaking into residences in the middle of the night without the owners’ permission.

At Webb’s trial, defense attorney Jimmy Stewart of San Angelo relied on testimony of an alibi witness to claim that Webb was not involved.  However, the jury was able to listen to a recording of detectives interviewing the alibi witness immediately after the offense occurred to evaluate the credibility of that witness’s claim at trial.

The jury determined that Webb was the male involved in the burglary and sexual assault and returned a guilty verdict.  The trial judge then heard punishment evidence about Dempsey Webb’s history of burglaries, assault on a public servant, aggravated assault and several misdemeanors.  The trial judge also listened to a recorded phone call that Assistant District Attorney Bird argued showed Webb committing the offense of witness tampering while the trial was proceeding.  Judge Blann, the visiting judge, assessed Webb’s punishment at 44 years of incarceration.