This story has been updated with comments from the defense and prosecution and with the jury's verdict.
KATY, Texas (Covering Katy News) — A jury has convicted Devin Delvalle, 22, of manslaughter in the death of Cinco Ranch High School student Logan Dark. Closing arguments in the punishment phase happened Thursday afternoon. The jury began deliberating Delvalle's fate late Thursday afternoon and by Friday they sentenced him to four years in prison.
The second-degree felony conviction stems from a Sept. 28, 2023, collision at 6:46 a.m. in the 6000 block of South Mason Road near Creech Elementary School. Delvalle's car struck Dark, who was riding his bicycle in a crosswalk. Investigators say he never applied his brakes before the collision.
A jogger who was at the scene shortly after the accident described what he witnessed.
"What I saw that morning was awful," he said. "Many of the things outlined in the investigating officer's affidavit were things I also noticed. There were no brake marks either before the point of impact or after. Logan Dark's body was lying a shocking distance from the point of impact."
The defense chose to have the jury decide punishment rather than Judge Edward Krenek. According to Wesley Wittig, the District Attorney's Office spokesman, probation is an option under state law if the jury decides punishment, but that option comes off the table should the punishment be decided by a judge. On Thursday, Jan. 29, the defense asked the jury to give Devalle probation, noting that he had no prior arrests.
"Probation in this case is an opportunity for Devon to prove to you, to prove to this judge, to prove to the Dark family, to prove to his family, and to prove to himself that he can be a different person, that he can change and he can learn from this horrible, horrible event in his life," a member of the defense team told the jury, noting that he's never been arrested before.
But the prosecution said the jury can factor in that he's not been in jail previously and still assess a lengthy sentence, noting that Delvalle continued smoking marijuana while he was free on bond. Failing a drug test, they say, is evidence that he's done nothing to address the underlying issues that resulted in the death of 14-year-old Logan Dark. The maximum sentence is 20 years in prison. Prosecutors asked the jury for a 14-year sentence, saying he's a risk to reoffend.
"He was a grown man when this happened, doing what the defense wants to call a 'normal activity.' I beg to differ. Normal people don't do 20 miles an hour over the speed limit in front of an elementary school," prosecutors argued.
"We know the defendant is violent. He got into a fight with his girlfriend and was mad enough that he messed up the railing at the apartment complex, causing $700 worth of damage in the months leading up to this. We know that he likes to spend his time smoking dope and joyriding around in cars," the prosecution argued.
One day after closing arguments the jury decided that Devalle should serve 4 years in prison. He'll be eligible for parole after he serves half of his sentence. That means, with good behavior in prion he could be free in two years.