One of three defendants charged in connection with a 2024 armed home break-in was sentenced Wednesday to eight years in prison while another received deferred adjudication and the third will learn his fate next month.
Josiah Morrison, 20, pleaded guilty to burglary of a habitation with intent to commit another felony in the 198th state District Court in Bandera County, with Judge Patrick Maguire presiding.
According to court records, Christian Franco pleaded guilty in connection with the charge stemming from a home invasion in December 2025 and received 10 years deferred adjudication and 350 hours of community service.
Kothan Hernandez is scheduled to be sentenced Sept. 16.
Prior to Morrison’s sentencing, victims Chelise Dawe and Jay Rasmussen testified about what they described as a “horrifying” home invasion.
Dawe told the court she was awakened in the middle of the night by flashlights shining in her face. When her vision adjusted, she said she saw four individuals wearing black ski masks and carrying firearms.
“They threatened to kill me, my family, my dog,” Dawe testified. “They asked for my phone, my purse, my keys.”
According to Dawe, the burglars stole her vehicle and electronics from the home she shared with Rasmussen.
Three of the suspects were later named by investigators as Morrison, Franco and Hernandez. A fourth intruder has not been identified.
Dawe also testified she had known Morrison since grade school and had once considered him a friend.
“It was shocking,” she said.
Morrison’s mother, Stephanie Porter, asked the court for leniency, describing her son as a devoted father to his two children. She noted Morrison missed the birth of one child while incarcerated during the past five months.
“He’s trying to be a man of God,” Porter said. “He’s renewed his relationship with the Lord.”
Defense attorney Kurt Rudkin requested Morrison receive deferred adjudication with community supervision rather than a prison sentence.
Deferred adjudication is a type of plea deal with probation that can be handed down by a court if a defendant pleads guilty or no contest to the charge. A judge does not
formally find the accused guilty and, if all community supervision conditions set by the bench are met, the judge eventually can dismiss the charge.
However, prosecutor Benjamin Rosenbach argued that Morrison had previously been given an opportunity for deferred adjudication on an unrelated charge and failed to complete the court-ordered requirements.
Maguire echoed those concerns.
“You have failed to complete any of the classes, pay the court fees or complete any of the hours of community service,” Maguire said. “Probation is not an option here.”
While expressing sympathy for Morrison’s fiancée and young family, Maguire emphasized Morrison’s own decisions put those relationships at risk.
“You’re on the fast track for being a hardened criminal,” he said.
The judge also referenced Morrison’s prior criminal history.
According to the jurist, in 2018, Morrison was charged with arson. In 2022, he was charged with evading arrest in a neighboring county. Because those cases were handled in juvenile court, they did not result in felony convictions. In 2023, Morrison received deferred adjudication for possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance, according to the court.
“You’re going to the penitentiary,” Maguire said before imposing the eight-year sentence in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.
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