COLDSPRING — A San Jacinto County resident was given an 11-year prison sentence in connection with the drunken driving death of Gary Ralph, 67.
Casey Leon Jones was convicted last week by a San Jacinto County Jury of intoxication manslaughter, a second-degree felony.
Chief Assistant District Attorney Rob Freyer said that the case demonstrates that the county doesn’t tolerate these events.
Freyer said that on Feb. 26, 2023, Jones had been drinking, and after the bar shuts down, leaves to get more beer with the victim, in a vehicle without owner Sunny Merrill’s permission.
Jones lost control of the vehicle on a curve near Highway 156 and FM 945 in San Jacinto County, hit a tree, and the passenger was killed, Freyer said. To this day, there is a cross at the accident site.
“I commend the work by the DPS troopers and everyone in this case,” he said.
