A Tarrant County judge ordered today a Fort Worth man to serve 25 years in state prison after a conviction in an intimate-partner strangulation case. Prosecutors say the attack happened in September 2024 and left the victim with injuries consistent with impaired breathing. County officials and victim advocates credited investigators and prosecutors for getting the case in front of a jury and through sentencing.
According to a post from the Tarrant County District Attorney's Office, the defendant, 37-year-old Bushae Hatton Jr., was sentenced after being convicted of impeding a family member's breathing. The post states that Hatton had prior convictions for assaulting two other intimate partners and includes an attached transcript describing the attack. The DA's office closed its statement with a familiar line of praise: "Thanks to the Fort Worth Police Department for their work on this case and for their commitment to keeping our community safe."
Thanks to the Fort Worth Police Department for their work on this case and for their commitment to keeping our community safe. pic.twitter.com/5S7A7a01Ah
— Tarrant County DA (@TarrantCountyDA) April 21, 2026
County docket lists aggravated assault with a deadly weapon
Tarrant County's public docket lists the case in the 371st District Court as aggravated assault against a dating or family member with a deadly weapon and records a 25-year Texas Department of Criminal Justice sentence. The entry names Assistant District Attorneys Morgan Blair and Riley Reynolds as prosecutors and lists Victor Espino-Nervarez as the investigator and Carrie Farley as the victim advocate. The docket is posted on the Tarrant County website.
What the charge means under Texas law
Under Texas law, impeding another person's normal breathing or blood circulation by applying pressure to the throat or blocking the nose or mouth is treated as an elevated assault and prosecuted as a felony. The statute classifies strangulation-type conduct as a serious family-violence offense and allows for multi-year prison terms, and prior family-violence convictions or other aggravating facts can increase the penalty range. See Texas Penal Code §22.01 for the governing language and recent amendments.
Prosecutors and victim support named in court records
Court listings identify ADAs Morgan Blair and Riley Reynolds as the prosecutors who handled the case, with Investigator Victor Espino-Nervarez and Victim Advocate Carrie Farley credited for their roles. Defense counsel is listed on the docket as Cami Gildner. Those names and the sentence appear in Tarrant County records.
Local context and reaction
The DA's brief social post fits a pattern in which the office publicly thanks Fort Worth police after prosecutions that end in lengthy sentences, a practice documented in other Tarrant County cases. Victim-services groups say naming investigators and advocates in public notices underscores the collaborative work behind these prosecutions, while defense attorneys point out that sentencing outcomes reflect plea agreements, prior records and the facts presented at the hearing. Together, the DA's statement and the county docket form the public record of Hatton's conviction and 25-year sentence.
