Man sentenced to life for domestic violence
By Alex Keller
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McKINNEY, Texas (KTVT) — A Collin County man with a history of domestic violence was sentenced to life in prison after he brutally beat his then-pregnant girlfriend and held her at a relative’s home for several days.
Apolonio Rodriguez, 33, of Celina, was sentenced by a jury to life in prison for Aggravated Assault with a Deadly Weapon Causing Serious Bodily Injury with Family Violence. Collin County District Attorney Greg Willis hailed the sentence as a triumph of justice. “Rodriguez spent 15 years abusing multiple women. The verdict delivers vindication for the victims and perfect punishment for the predator,” stated Willis after sentencing.
According to court documents, the victim was in a “dating relationship” with Rodriguez and seven months pregnant when Rodriguez assaulted her with a golf club, extension cord, knife, mug, and his hands and feet at their house in Celina. His attack caused extensive bruising all over the victim’s body, lacerations to her head, and a shattered elbow.
After assaulting her, Rodriguez forced the victim to flee with him to a relative’s house. When she failed to show up for work, the victim’s friends and family requested a welfare check at her home. Law enforcement did not locate her for five days.
Rodriguez and the victim were finally found hiding in the attic of his family member’s house through coordinated efforts between the Celina Police Department, the Texas Rangers, Collin County Sheriff’s Office, McKinney Police Department, and U.S. Marshal’s Task Force. At the time of this assault, Rodriguez was already wanted for Aggravated Assault with a Deadly Weapon out of Montague County for shooting a prior girlfriend.
With the coordinated efforts of the Celina Police Department, the Texas Rangers, Collin County Sheriff’s Office, McKinney Police Department, and U.S. Marshal’s Task Force, the victim and Rodriguez were finally located hiding in the attic of his family member’s house. At the time Rodriguez committed this assault, he was wanted for Aggravated Assault with a Deadly Weapon out of Montague County for shooting a prior girlfriend.
Rodriguez was found guilty by a jury late on Friday, April 1, 2022. During the sentencing hearing, prosecutors presented evidence that Rodriguez had committed domestic abuse on other women over the course of 15 years. He had previously been convicted of misdemeanor Assault Family Violence in 2007 in Denton County, where he served 120 days in jail.
Another victim also testified that Rodriguez had abused her between 2008 and 2012, and yet another victim said he had abused her between 2016 and 2017. Rodriguez had not been prosecuted for these cases of abuse because the victims had been too scared to come forward.
Rodriguez was sentenced to life in prison, and will not be eligible for parole for 30 years.
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