On July 21st, following a bench trial in Menard, 50-year-old Mark Hamilton Minyard was sentenced to serve a maximum of 65 years in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice-Institutional Division on four separate felony offenses. Visiting Judge Stephen Ellis (Brownwood) presided over the trial, with 452nd District Attorney Tonya Ahlschwede representing the State.
Minyard was indicted for conduct that occurred on April 23, 2025, when he physically assaulted his spouse, then led law enforcement on a high-speed chase that culminated in a shoot-out with Texas Parks & Wildlife Department Game Warden John Compton, Sheriff Burl Hagler, and the Menard County Sheriff’s Office on U.S. Highway 190 west of Menard.
Minyard was injured by gunfire from the shoot-out after he first wielded and fired an Armalite M15 multi-caliber rifle (AR15) with a Rudolph scope from his stopped vehicle from the highway bar ditch. No officer was injured in the encounter.
The defendant previously admitted guilt in open court to Aggravated Assault Against a Public Servant with a Deadly Weapon (enhanced first degree felony); Unlawful Possession of a Firearm by a Felon (a third degree felony); Evading Arrest with a Vehicle (enhanced to a second degree felony); and Assault on a Family Member—Impeding Breathing or Circulation (enhanced to a second degree felony).
The range of punishment of Minyard’s felony charges were enhanced because he was previously convicted of the felony offense of Evading Arrest with a Vehicle in McClennan County, Texas, in 2012. Because of his previous felony conviction,
At the conclusion of the trial, Judge Ellis sentenced the defendant to serve 65 years imprisonment for Aggravated Assault Against a Public Servant with a Deadly Weapon, and a total 35 years imprisonment for each of the other offenses. All sentences will run concurrently.
Following the court’s assessment of 65 years confinement, District Attorney Tonya Spaeth Ahlschwede explained, “My office will always prosecute people who threaten our men and women in law enforcement. We ask these people to put on a badge every day and work hard to keep our families safe. Assaulting public servants will never be tolerated. And assaulting one’s own spouse will never be tolerated.” She also thanked law enforcement for their dedication to serving and protecting our community.
