Judge sentences man who led police on high-speed chase to 40 years in prison.
Updated: Mar 26, 2023
Remember the guy who, while fleeing from police after stealing a truck last year, rammed into another vehicle with a woman and four young occupants?
Well, he’s headed to the Big House.
District Court Judge Jason Cashon sentenced Donald Goodwin on Tuesday to 40 years in prison. Goodwin had previously pleaded guilty to two counts of aggravated assault and was awaiting punishment.
During Tuesday’s proceeding, Early police officer Marvin Simpson testified that he received a call from dispatch on March 14, 2022 that a stolen Dodge Ram 3500, driven by Goodwin, was coming in from Brownwood.
Simpson spotted the vehicle a short time later and was led on an 80-minute chase through multiple counties, topping speeds of up to 133 mph.
“(Goodwin) was driving at a high rate of speed, swerving in and out of traffic,” Simpson said.
Erath County District Attorney Alan Nash played a video of the pursuit taken from Simpson’s patrol car as it traveled through Stephenville.
The video showed Goodwin weaving in and out of traffic as he headed east on Washington Street before rear-ending a Hyundai driven by Lucia Alanis.
On the stand Tuesday, Alanis said she was taking her four kids to get frozen yogurt when her vehicle was hit hard from behind while she was stopped at a red light.
One of her children received a bloody nose, but none were seriously injured.
Nash, citing Goodwin’s lengthy criminal history and “extreme disregard” for the safety of others, asked the judge to sentence Goodwin to prison.
“The behavior by this defendant was so extreme that it’s by the grace of God…that he didn’t kill someone that day,” Nash said.
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