While housed in the Karnes GEO facility for the charge of murder, Matamoros assaulted an inmate by cutting him in the head with a shank and stabbed the guard in the arm who was working to stop the assault. On August 12, 2024, Matamoros pled no contest to assaulting the guard with a cap of 50 years in prison for Aggravated Assault with a Deadly Weapon Against a Public Servant. The defendant had previously been to prison for 5 years making his punishment range 15- 50 years. Also, with this plea agreement, the defendant waived his right to appeal. On August 29, 2024, Prosecutors Audrey Vasquez and Lorena Whitney presented punishment evidence including witnesses from two arson cases, two other assaults on guards, as well as possession of a prohibited substance while in a correctional facility, all of which occurred while Matamoros was housed in the GEO facility. Based on this propensity for violence, our office asked the Judge to sentence the defendant to the full 50 years. After reviewing the Pre-Sentence Investigation Report prepared by the Karnes County Adult Probation Office, hearing testimony about all his other cases from the victims and the witnesses involved in those, and the argument from ADA Vasquez, the Honorable Judge Dillingham sentenced the defendant to 44 years in prison. Because this is an aggravated offense, the defendant must serve half of his sentence before he is eligible for parole. Matamoros’ murder charge remains pending.
Thank you to all law enforcement who worked to investigate this defendant’s cases and provided extra security for the sentencing hearing, Probation Unit Manager Veronica Garza who provided the Presentence Investigation and Report, and my Assistant District Attorneys Audrey Vasquez and Lorena Whitney, and Investigator Roland Trevino for fighting for the safety and security of our community.
