Horace Hiwatha Walker II, found guilty in absentia when he took off during a trial where he stood accused of aggravated sexual assault of a child, was captured by law enforcement and returned to Beaumont where he was formally sentenced for his crimes this month before Criminal District Judge John Stevens.
Accused of aggravated sexual assault of a child dating back to 2020, as well as possessing an indicted felony for bringing a “prohibited substance” into a correctional facility in 2022, Walker absconded mid-trial from jury proceedings on Nov. 17, 2022.
Out on bond at the time (pursuant to a “glitch” in the system,” the judge read into the record) for the felony allegations, Walker flirted with immediate imprisonment when the defendant failed to show for court on time as trial first commenced.
While the judge contemplated a bond revocation and arrest warrant, the trial was delayed as court personnel searched for the accused.
Contacted by the defendant’s attorney, Walker’s family said he would be to court – eventually, roughly half an hour past the time court was to begin.
At 9:30 a.m., half an hour after court was to begin, Stevens said he would allow another 15 minutes to arrive. At 9:50 a.m., the judge moved to proceed with trial without the defendant present.
“A warrant has been issued for his arrest,” Stevens said. “It’s obvious the defense is not providing me any information to make the court believe there is no good reason to move forward.”
Walker’s attorney, Bruce Smith, advised that his client had been out late with friends the night before and asked to spend, “the next couple hours” to “try to convince him into coming here.”
“The defendant has, on his own volition, elected not to appear – and we will move forward, like the rules allow,” Stevens said.
The jury was brought into the courtroom, without the defendant present, at 10:07 a.m. Evidence was presented; a judgment was determined; and the court awaited Walker’s reemergence for justice to be meted out.
According to records of the local county jail, Walker was arrested while on the run roughly three months later and returned to Jefferson County the day after Valentine’s Day 2023.
March 21, as Walker stood before Judge Stevens already a convicted child sex criminal, the defendant was given one last opportunity to give any reason as to why the court shouldn’t render the jury’s verdict.
Offering no opposition to the jury-imposed sentence, Walker accepted 30 years imprisonment in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice to begin pending transport.
As of press time, Walker was still in the custody of the Jefferson County Jail.
— Jennifer Johnson, Managing Editor