Sosa-Pintor Sentenced to Three Concurrent Terms of 240 Months in Federal Prision
Fernando Sosa-Pintor, 52, of Sulphur Springs was sentenced to three terms of 240 months each to run concurrently in Federal Prison Tuesday, March 28, 2017. Sosa-Pintor was found guilty of one count of possession of child pornography and two counts of distribution of child pornography on September 9, 2016. He had remained in the custody of U S Marshall’s until he was sentenced.
Under federal statutes, Sosa-Pintor faced up to 20 years in federal prison on each charge. This is the maximum statutory sentence prescribed by Congress and is provided here for information purposes, as the sentencing will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the U.S. Probation Office.
This case was being prosecuted as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov. [external link]
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Hopkins County Sheriff’s Office and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Marisa Miller and Lesley Brooks.
First arrested by the Hopkins County Sheriff’s Office, the second arrest was initiated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Sosa-Pintor had been held in Hopkins County Jail until Tuesday, August 04, 2015, when he was taken to Plano for a hearing in federal court. The Sulphur Springs man was arrested by Hopkins County Sheriff’s deputies Tuesday evening, September 23, 2014 for possession of and promotion of child pornography. Then Investigator Daniel Winn and Sgt. Corley Weatherford executed a search warrant at the residence above a Mexican food restaurant on West Industrial in Sulphur Springs. Computers and electronics containing images of child pornography were seized.
PJC Cheerleading Clinic; Tryouts are Saturday
A morning cheer clinic and afternoon tryouts will be held this Saturday, April 1, at the Hunt Center by Paris Junior College. Those wishing to tryout for next year’s PJC cheer squad must attend the clinic, which runs from 9 a.m. to noon. Tryouts will begin at 1 p.m.
An application and medical release form must be completed and returned by Thursday, March 30 by 5 p.m. to the PJC Student Life Office. Other requirements include current enrollment in or acceptance to PJC. Incoming freshman and transfer students must provide a copy of their acceptance letter. All applicants must have a minimum 2.0 cumulative GPA. Participants must be 18 or have a parent or guardian signature.
At the clinic, participants will be taught chants, a cheer, and a dance, and be required to perform what they learned at the tryouts. They should wear black shorts and a white t-shirt to the tryouts.
Those succeeding at the tryouts must be available to practice and attend camp over the summer. If they cannot participate over the summer, the next highest-ranking participant will be chosen.
All participants must complete a tryout application. To get the application packet, download at www.parisjc.edu/cheer, or contact PJC Student Life Coordinator/Cheer Coach Leanna Swart at [email protected] or 903-782-0403, or PJC Director of Student Life Kenneth Webb at [email protected] or 903-782-0433.
Muniz Receives Scholarship from Mount Vernon Music
Mount Vernon Music presented 13-year old Jace Muniz a $50 scholarship. The scholarship is to be used for music and/or to purchase a violin. Muniz recorded a piece for competition. He is a students of Private Teacher Suzanna Herrera at Heart Strings Violin Studio. Mount Vernon Music offers scholarships annually to students in rural East Texas to enable those students to pursue their dream.
Muniz has been playing violin for three years. He picked it up although he wanted to play base. Muniz’s mother would not let him take art so he chose between orchestra and band. He said playing the violin has motivated him to try out for Julliard, which he called shooting for the stars. Julliard is a prestigious school for dance, music, and drama. Currently, the music division has 600 students from over 40 countries.
Herrera met Muniz through a workshop for the school orchestra program. Herrera opened Heart Strings Violin Studio two years ago. She provides private lessons to students beyond that offered by the school district. Muniz has potential, according to Herrera.
Contraband and Walking on the Wrong Side of the Road
Walking on the wrong side of the road is dangerous and especially if you have contraband on your person. Quentin Adis Latham, 17, of Sulphur Springs was stopped by Sulphur Springs Police. He did possess contraband. He was charged with Possession of a Controlled Substance Penalty Group 3, more than 28-grams but less than 200-grams in a Drug Free Zone. He also was charged with less than 2oz of marijuana. He is in Hopkins County Jail being held on $17,000 in bonds.
SSHS FFA Members Bring Home Honors from Houston Junior Ag Mechanics Show
At the Houston Junior Ag Mechanics show this past weekend, Sulphur Springs FFA members exhibited four projects and all received blue ribbons (meaning they received at least 90 points on a 100 point scale) with one of them placing 6th in their class, according to J. T. Luper, FFA Advisor at SSHS. He said this is quite an accomplishment as the students competed in a field of over 550 projects divided between 16 classes.
Taking sixth in class and Blue Ribbon for a Pig Scale/Weighing Trailer were Braden “Catfish” Katchinska, Austin McKinney, and Tyler Young.
Receiving a Blue Ribbon for a 16ft. Entry Gate were Colby Pace and Blaine Flemens.
A Blue Ribbon was won for a Hay Fork Utility Pallet by Cameron Zahn and Noah Hemby.
Drake Smith’s six-feet, three piece Disc won a Blue Ribbon
Hale Named Goalkeeper of the Year; 11 Lady Cats Named to All-District Team
The Lady Cats’ soccer team earned two superlatives and had eleven players total on the All-District Soccer Team selected by the district soccer coaches.
Sophie Young
Freshman Sophie Young was chosen the Newcomer of the Year. Senior Abbi Hale was selected as Goalkeeper of the Year.
Abbi Hale
Making the All-District First Team were junior forward Gracie Boyer, senior midfielder Ciarra Rico and senior defender Kamryn Wimberly.
Second Team selections were junior forward Makenna Kager, senior midfielder Faith Singleton and junior defender Jo McMillan.
On the Honorable Mention list were senior forward Lauren Helm, junior midfielder Taylor Robinson and senior defender Payton Pierce.
Coaches were not allowed to vote for a member of their own team.
Wildcat Powerlifters Competed at State Tourney
Wildcats Powerlifting Coach Casey Jeter said he couldn’t be prouder of his two junior lifters who competed at the State Powerlifting Meet at the Taylor County Expo Center in Abilene Saturday. Coach Jeter said Cor’Tavius Pruitt in the 181 pound weight class and D’Idrec Dugan in the 220 pound weight class pushed themselves to really compete at the meet. He said both lifters attempted bench press weight levels they had not previously done. Coach Jeter said they lifted the weight but were not able to finish the lift due to technical issues.
Pruitt finished 17th among 23 lifters in his weight class and Dugan was 20th among nearly 30 lifters in his weight class. Coach Jeter said the Wildcats finished in the top 20 in the state at the meet. He said both of his lifters finished the meet not bombing out against extreme competition. Coach Jeter said Pruitt and Dugan are already thinking about competing at state next year. He said they represented Sulphur Springs with pride and brought pride to the high school.
Coach Jeter said 10,000 people showed up to watch the lifters, which included 242 competitors in the Class 6A and Class 5A Division.
SSISD Board Approved Resignations and Personnel Changes Monday
Personnel changes were made at the special meeting of the Sulphur Springs School Board Monday at 11:30 a.m. The board met in executive session but no decision was required for the discussions conducted.
Personnel Changes include:
Resignations
Tiffany Ramsey SpEd Aide SS Elementary
Sarah Frazier Math Teacher Middle School
Personnel Change New position/campus Former position/campus
Joanna Foster Acad. Specialist/ECLC Acad. Specialist/Travis
Chandra Crawford Acad. Specialist/Lamar Acad. Specialist/Bowie
Warrant Round-up Clears Over 200 Cases
Over 200 cases were cleared during a Hopkins County Justice of the Peace Warrant Round-up that took place between January 25 and March 5, 2017. Warrants were served by law enforcement, but in many cases people were prompted to contact the court. Extended office hours on two days also allowed people to contact the court to settle fines.
The Hopkins County Justice Courts and the Sulphur Springs Municipal Court are very understanding and accommodating, according to Brad Cummings, local JP. No one should ever go to jail for a class “C” warrant but communication is Paramount, he stated. Getting a Class C ticket is not the end of the world and shouldn’t be treated as such. Yet, the case will remain open until fully satisfied.
When a person gets a ticket if they don’t contact the Court, the court tries to contact them. Cummings said that a local company in Sulphur Springs, GHS, attempts to contact defendants for the courts. GHS also sends pre-warrant notices to defendants as well. These are yellow cards and are in fact a legitimate contact. “It is not a scam,” Cummings stated. “If you received one of these cards, you need to contact the court listed on the card.”
Contacting the court doesn’t necessarily mean physically coming into the office, according to Cummings. A phone call or writing the court also constitutes contact. The contact must be done on or before the date given on the ticket. There are certain circumstances where a person will be required to appear in person. Initial contact with the court will advise the defendant whether or not they must appear in person.
Cummings noted that not everyone’s financial situation is the same. “If a person cannot pay their entire fine up front, we understand that and we can set up a payment plan,” said Cummings. Another way to satisfy a fine is through completing community service, but that has to be requested and approved by the judge. Certain circumstances also provide other means of satisfying fines that would be discussed with the defendant when they contact the court. The only time that a warrant is issued for a defendant is when no contact with the court is made, the court cannot contact the individual because of bad contact information, or the person fails to appear before the court for show cause hearing or pretrial.
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