Lampasas County 27th District Court convened last week with Judge John Gauntt presiding over the day’s hearings.
Matthew Isaiah Lawson of Copperas Cove had his pretrial hearing reset for Jan. 8, 2021. His bond was reduced from $30,000 to a personal recognizance bond of $2,500. Lawson faces a charge of murder in the September 2019 killing of Vance Henry Helzer.
Two other murder defendants already have been sentenced in the case.
And in a special court setting on Oct. 22, Heather Nicole Smith of Kempner entered a plea of guilty to a Class A misdemeanor charge of credit card abuse, and she was found guilty. The court assessed her two days in county jail, with credit for time served; a fine of $750; restitution of $1,202.35; and court costs of $305, with six months to pay.
In upcoming 27th District Court action, the following were rescheduled for Nov. 13:
Pretrial hearing for Lonnie Wayne Johnson of Copperas Cove, on a charge of deadly conduct-discharge of a firearm. A waiver of arraignment was filed.
Johnson also had an adjudication announcement moved to Nov. 13 on a charge of driving while intoxicated-third or more.
Adjudication announcement for Felix Ybarra of Lampasas, on a charge of possession of a controlled substance less than 1 gram in a drug-free zone. Adjudication hearing for Patrick
Anthony Lee of Bastrop, on a charge of possession of a controlled substance over 1 gram and less than 4 grams.