SAN ANGELO, TX -- Chelsea Jo Strube will not go to prison for arson after a Tom Green County jury recommended to visiting Senior District Judge Brock Jones a sentence of ten years in prison suspended for community supervision and a $10,000 fine.
The jury heard testimony throughout the day Monday in the punishment phase of the trial. The same jury on Friday found Strube guilty of arson in the Sept. 8, 2015 torching of Shelby Siler's car in the DeadhorseBar parking lot in the 200 block of S. Chadbourne St. after a week long trial.
Arson is a second degree felony punishable by two to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000. Because Strube had not been convicted of a prior felony, she was eligible for community supervision probation.
District Attorney Allison Palmer began her case Monday morning by telling jurors she planned on putting the victim on the stand and that the jury had the opportunity to put all the evidence together from the guilt/innocence phase of the trial along with new evidence in the punishment phase before reaching a decision on punishment.
Palmer first called the victim, Shelby Siler, to the witness stand. Siler testified that she believed Strube followed her after she left the Concho Pearl where she worked. Siler said she drove to an apartment complex then to her boyfriend's house because she was afraid of Strube. Siler told the jury her family wanted her to move away from San Angelo because they were afraid for her life.
Palmer then called Tom Green County Library employee Heather Ortiz to the witness stand. Ortiz testified that Strube worked in an office next to the Stephens Central Library downtown. Ortiz said she backed into a pickup Strube was driving causing damage. She said Strube threatened her when she refused to give insurance information to Strube in a timely manner. Ortiz testified that she believed Strube followed her from the parking lot at the Stephens Library downtown across town to the Bluff subdivision. She said she was terrified and called 911. Police were dispatched to the area of Jim Bass Ford. Ortiz testified Strube stopped following her somewhere in the Bluffs.
Next on the witness stand for the prosecution was Tom Green County Library employee Kacey Dees. Dees testified that he witnessed Strube's black SUV whip around at a high rate of speed to follow Ortiz. The next witness was Vanessa Hartel, also an employee of the library. Hartel testified that she watched what she described as Strube's black SUV almost attempt to run Ortiz down in the parking lot behind the library. Hartel said, "Strube looked Manic!"
Palmer's final witness Monday was Jayson Zapata; a police officer with the San Angelo Police Department who testified Ortiz seemed scared.
The the District Attorney rested her case.
Defense attorney Gonzalo Rios called Roger Strube to the witness stand. Roger testified that he went to the library parking lot and confronted Ortiz just to get her insurance information in an attempt to get the damage she caused to his truck fixed. Mr. Strube testified that he kept pressuring his daughter to get that information and when she couldn't, he took it upon himself to resolve the situation. Mr. Strube became emotional on the stand as he looked across the room at his daughter.
Then came the moment the trial was waiting for; the defendant, Chelsea Strube took the witness stand.
After walking though her education and work history, Chelsea testified that she didn't follow Ortiz and she didn't follow Shelby Siler. She cried on the witness stand with a dozen or more of her family and friends setting behind her defense attorney.
Chelsea Strube testified that she was engaged to a 'wonderful man' and they are set to be married on September 28, 2019. There were more tears on the witness stand and in the gallery from her friends and family. Strube testified that in 2014 she was texting and driving and that led to her crashing one of her father's work trucks. She suffered a broken back in that crash.
She also testified under questioning from her attorney that she had a wonderful support system for probation and that she regretted the day she met Brendon Farnsworth, her ex-boyfriend. Strube testified under questioning from D.A. Palmer that she earned a Law Degree from Texas Welseyan University in 2011 and took the Texas Bar Exam five times. She has yet to pass the bar.
Strube also testified that she signed Stephanie Goodman's name to a motion for a continuance for a client.
Strube then testified that she is engaged to be married on September 28, 2019. She cried again on the witness stand describing her fiance.
After Chelsea Strube finished testifying, her attorney Gonzalo Rios called Tom Green County Constable Pct. 2 Deen Dickson to the witness stand. Dickson is a longtime resident of Wall and testified he has known Strube all of her life. Dickson testified as a character witness.
Then Rios called Justin Strube to the witness stand. Justin is Chelsea's younger brother. He told the jury that Chelsea is a fine person and a good sister and he likes her fiance.
Rios then called Bobby Jackson to the witness stand. Jackson testified that Strube made signs for his family that read, "Happy First Day of School" which his children saw on their way past her house on the first day of school.
Next on the stand was Brooklyn Bloodworth who testified she was a lifelong friend of Strube. Bloodworth said Chelsea was one of her oldest friends and "She'd do anything for me!"
Rios then brought San Angelo Attorney Stephanie Goodman back to the stand. Goodman testified Monday that it was common for Strube to sign her names to court documents for her when Goodman was unavailable and they were facing a court deadline.
Then came the game changer.
Rios called Chelsea Strube'sfiance to the witness stand. Chris Wood is a well-known taxidermist with two children and a thriving business. Wood choked up when he told the jury he kept after Chelseato marry him and get on with their lives. Again there were lots of tears in the courtroom.
Next, the defense attorney called Wood's son, Dakota, to the stand. Dakota is 18-years-old. He testified he was glad Chelsea Strube is in his dad's life because she makes him happy.
Gonzalo Rios' tenth and final witness was LaDonna Burton who is a paralegal for San Angelo attorney Shawntell McKillop. Burton testified that Ortiz used inappropriate language in their encounter in the parking garage.
At 2:30 p.m. both the prosecution and defense rested and closed their cases. Then Judge Jones read the charge to the jury.
There were five sentencing options for the jury: 1) 2 to 20 years in prison with no fine; 2) 2 to 20 years in prison with a fine of up to $10,000; 3) 2 to 10 years plus community supervision; 4) 2 to 10 years plus community supervision and a fine of up to $10,000; 5) Probation.
The jury retired to deliberate the sentence at 3:12 p.m. Monday. At 4:57 p.m., the bell rang in courtroom A alerting the bailiff that the jury had reached a decision. Judge Jones read the jury's decision at 5:03 pm.
The sentence recommended by the jury was ten years in prison suspended for community service and a fine of $10,000 to be paid immediately.
Judge Jones told the court that Strube will undergo a pre-sentencing interview (PSI) and Chelsea Strube will be sentenced on July 31, 2019 at 10 a.m.
