NEW BOSTON, Texas–A Bowie County jury recommended a sentence of life plus 45 years Thursday for a Texarkana man they convicted of assault and deadly conduct on Wednesday.
Brioni Sevon Dansby, 38, will serve the terms at the same time, as a matter of law, First Assistant District Attorney Kelley Crisp told TXK Today on Thursday.
Crisp said, “Brioni Dansby is a gang member and a career criminal and has been such for almost twenty years.”
“Each time he has been released from incarceration, he has re-offended.” Crisp said. “The Bowie County District Attorney’s Office thanks the jury for ending this crime spree by giving him a well-deserved life sentence.”
“The citizens of our county are safer today thanks to this jury’s verdict and the outstanding work of our local law enforcement agencies,” Crisp added.
Dansby was found guilty by the jury of criminal conduct in unrelated incidents that occured on the same day in May 2023. In one instance, Dansby shot at a man and his children and in another, he used a pistol to beat a man, causing severe injuries to his face, according to court records.
A video of the aggravated assault was played for the jury during the guilt or innocence phase of the trial and witnesses testified that Dansby held his weapon to the victim’s head during the attack while bystanders pleaded with him to stop.
The assault charge resulted in a life sentence while the deadly conduct charge resulted in a 45-year term, with the sentences to run concurrently.
Crisp said the jury heard testimony regarding 21 prior criminal convictions on Dansby’s record.
Dansby’s prior felony convictions include an offense in Miller County, Ark., involving criminal gang activity. Dansby is allegedly a member of a local street gang called the “Rose Hill Boys” and has been associated with the Bloods street gang, according to a notice filed by Crisp.
The state’s notice chronicles a long history of gang-related criminal activity by Dansby, including a number of assaults and witness intimidation.
During an interview with Texarkana, Texas, police investigators in 2021, Dansby was asked about the level of violence in the city and whether he believed it was “one of the most dangerous cities in Texas.”
Dansby replied, “Man, I know it. I done this. I made this city what it really is,” the state’s notice said.
Dansby reportedly committed the offenses of aggravated robbery and unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon nine days after being paroled from prison in August 2021 on a charge of unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon, the notice said.
The state’s notice lists other convictions for violent conduct Dansby has on his record going back to 2003.
District Judge John Tidwell presided over the trial. Dansby was represented by Tabatha Branch of the Branch Law Firm.
Crisp and Assistant District Attorney Bradley Akins represented the state.
