Brazos County district attorney's office stops the release of a federal prison inmate before he starts serving a 75 year state sentence

This podcast is a visit with Brazos County assistant district attorney Jessica Escue and WTAW's Bill Oliver.The Brazos County district attorney's office took action to prevent a federal prison from releasing a convict before he started serving a 75 year sentence for shooting a Bryan man.47 year old Justin Byrd of Plantersville was convicted by a Brazos County jury in 2020 of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon that took place in 2017.Assistant DA Jessica Escue said it was the first time she encountered federal prosecutors choosing to have Byrd complete his federal sentence before starting the sentence for the Brazos County aggravated assault.Escue said the feds would not transfer Byrd to a state prison, nor would the state prison system pick up the federal inmate.Escue said the judge in the Brazos County case agreed to issue a bench warrant that allowed county officials to pick up Byrd before the end of his federal sentence and transport him to the Brazos County jail. The bench warrant will also allow county officials to transport Byrd to a state prison.