More than three years after allegedly driving drunk and plowing over a cadre of vehicles in front of Rogers Park in Beaumont, Walter “Loddie” Naymola’s defense asserts that “overzealous prosecutors overcharging Loddie” due to his noted wealth justified a “not guilty” response to charges of aggravated assault being heard in a Jefferson County courtroom this week. After two days of testimony and less than two hours of deliberation, a jury declared guilt as indicted. Sentencing is pending.
“This is a reckless driving accident that caused bodily injury,” defense attorney Ryan Gertz told jurors Jan. 13, adding that the charges were inflated because of Naymola’s wealth.
The day prior to opening arguments, Gertz and Naymola’s team of attorneys presented yet another filing arguing for further delay in beginning the proceeding. Visiting Judge Susan Brown denied the request. The defense team pointed to an appeal process already in the works, with recent filings dated December 2025. In part, the 9th Court of Appeals has already dismissed the appeal defense team’s attempt to put off the case due to what the lawyers called “selective prosecution.”
“(Naymola) is the President of 4-Horn Farm and Ranch, LLC, a business entity based in Beaumont, Texas, worth millions of dollars. He also oversees the Loddie Naymola Charitable Foundation which has donated substantial sums of money to local organizations in Beaumont,” the appeals filing notes, then addresses sworn testimony of defense attorney Gertz alleging that prosecutor Mike Laird told him that Naymola was charged, “something beyond a DWI or it will look like we’re treating the wealthy guy differently than everyone else.”
“In short,” the appeal attorneys claimed, “the State is discriminating against (Naymola) based on his wealth. They are treating him differently to make it appear that they are not treating him differently – but are nevertheless treating him differently on account of his wealth, a prohibited act.”
Jefferson County Assistant District Attorney Angela Kneeland’s called the appeal “frivolous,” and an “additional attempt to delay the trial” in the stale criminal case.
“The State has consistently maintained that (Naymola’s) selective prosecution claim is entirely without merit and was filed solely to delay trial,” Kneeland presented. “Like his brief, (Naymola’s) motion to stay contains numerous factual inaccuracies. Under controlling precedent, he has presented no evidence — let alone exceptionally clear evidence — that the district attorney’s prosecutorial policy had a discriminatory effect or was motivated by a discriminatory purpose.”
Even if Laird did say what Gertz alleges, Kneeland proffered, “these statements were indisputably made during plea negotiations, months or even years after the cases were indicted, and do not reflect the district attorney’s intent at the time of charging.”
“This case has been pending since August 2022, and it is time to move forward with trial,” Kneeland added. “(Naymola) is not entitled to stay of the criminal proceedings pending appeal because his claim is frivolous, and allowing such relief would reward the filing of baseless claims intended to delay justice.”
Less than one week after the Court of Appeals denied the motion to delay trial based on mistreatment of the wealthy, the appeal lawyers filed yet another appeal – this time seeking to disqualify District Attorney Keith Giblin from overseeing Naymola’s criminal prosecution.
“Under the facts of this case, the continued participation of the Hon. Keith Giblin, Criminal District Attorney, and each member of his staff, each of whom is a witness or potential witness, works as a violation of (Naymola’s) right to due process. The entire Criminal District Attorney’s Office is and should be disqualified from further participation in this case at any level,” the attorneys alleged. The Court of Appeals has not yet ruled on the recent submission.
Naymola’s attorneys previously succeeded in removing the original sitting judge from presiding over the criminal case. While no official documentation is contained in the public file for the matter in front of a jury as of press time, original Judge John Stevens recused himself after the defense team added an attorney with close family ties to the duly-elected judge of the Criminal District Court, where the cases were filed.
With no more time given from any court in charge of Naymola’s criminal trial, witnesses were collected for presentation before a jury the week of Jan. 13, with wreck victims and witnesses detailing the harrowing events that led to the prosecution.
According to testimony offered in trial from the “black box” of Naymola’s Dodge Ram pickup, when he impacted motorist Tiffany Barnaby Lozoya, the alleged drunk driver was traveling at a speed in excess of 110 mph along Dowlen Road toward Gladys Road. Naymola’s truck continued over the top of Lozoya’s car at the intersection, mostly flattening the vehicle, and struck a smaller SUV occupied by a family of four – twice. According to the second vehicle’s driver, Matthew Esthay, his 5-year-old daughter was pulled from the wreckage, “listless,” with wounds to her face. Naymola was on his way from yet another calamity he caused a few blocks up the street, where he cut through an improved corner bank lot and demolished shrubbery and a light pole in the median of Dowlen Road near Phelan Blvd..
“It just flashed past me,” eyewitness James Rippeon said of seeing Naymola’s truck heading to the scene of the crash just prior to impact. According to Rippeon, the truck was “at top speed” and he feared for the safety of the truck’s driver and anyone in his path. Rippeon added that he looked in his sideview mirror to witness the carnage. “It literally went right through the car – then the truck launched.
“I couldn’t imagine anyone walking out of that car.”
Brian Schall said he, too, saw the impact and did not believe Lozoya’s vehicle could have any survivors.
“It looked like a bomb went off. It sounded like a bomb went off,” Schall said. Certain the vehicle’s occupants were dead, Schall headed over to the truck driven by Naymola, he said. “All I could smell was whiskey. I asked him if he was ok. He was clearly not ok.”
Schall said he did not care if Naymola was ok or not, as the chaos of the scene, he believed, was caused by a drunk driver who never asked about the condition of any of the other motorists. A warrant for Naymola’s blood, prosecutors presented, revealed an alcohol level roughly three times the legal limit.
“I was frustrated, absolutely frustrated,” Schall said.
Lozoya, the driver and sole occupant of the first vehicle struck in the crash, did survive the crash. What did not survive, Lozoya said, were her dancing aspirations or a life free from continuous back and head pain still noted to this day.
“So, you didn’t lose an arm or anything?” defense attorney Gertz prodded Lozoya during testimony, in line with argument that the victim’s injuries failed to rise to Naymola’s aggravated assault charge.
Naymola’s actions resulted in eight hospital trips, including his own. The crash report lists 12 impacted victims who were in cars Naymola crumpled, including kids as young as 2, 5, 6 and 14. Due to the number of victims transported to the hospital at one time, Lozoya said, she was forced to share a room with the man responsible for the crash. According to Lozoya, Naymola was uncooperative with medical staff and refused to take responsibility for drunk driving. Lozoya said she prayed with a member of Naymola’s family for his future sobriety from her bed in the shared hospital room.
Jan. 14, prosecution and defense made closing arguments, leaving the jury to decide Naymola’s guilt or innocence. It took less than two hours for the jury to return with a verdict of guilt for aggravated assault as presented in the indictment. The jury had been given the option to find guilt for lesser included charges of driving while intoxicated or deadly conduct instead. A filing in the case requests that the jury assess punishment; they begin the punishment phase Jan. 15.