Court upholds soldier’s conviction, sentence
The conviction and 35-year sentence given to a former National Guardsman by a Bowie County jury for his conduct with a female colleague has been affirmed by an appellate court in Texarkana.
Ronnie Ricks Jr., 34, was convicted in November 2017 of burglary of a habitation with intent to commit sexual assault. Ricks, a National Guard sergeant, was in New Boston, Texas, along with a group of fellow Guard members the weekend of Nov. 15, 2014, for drills and training, according to an opinion handed down Aug. 30 by the 6th District Court of Appeals headquartered in Texarkana and a probable cause affidavit used to create the following account.
The group was staying at the Holiday Inn Express in New Boston. Following a presentation in the hotel, some of the Guard members gathered to celebrate the victim’s birthday. About 15 minutes after finishing a drink that Ricks made for her, the victim began to feel sick and dizzy. Her vision was blurred and she faded in and out of consciousness.
Believing she’d simply over-indulged, a fellow guardsman escorted the victim to her room, gave her a wet cloth and put a trashcan beside the bed before leaving her fully clothed in the locked hotel room. Some time later, the victim felt her pants being pulled down, recalled someone having sex with her and a subsequent feeling of paralysis.
The following day, the victim reported her suspicions to a superior with the National Guard and eventually the New Boston Police Department. Turned over to police was a man’s wedding ring the victim discovered on a bedside table the morning after.
Investigators obtained video surveillance footage showing that Ricks acquired a key to the woman’s room
from the front desk around midnight on the night of the assault. He was wearing his wedding ring at the time.
On appeal, Ricks argued that a muted recording of him in an interview room at the Bi-State Justice Building in downtown Texarkana should not have been played for the jury. Ricks invoked his Fifth Amendment right to remain silent shortly into the interrogation but he was recorded for approximately 10 minutes after ending the interview. That portion of the video, muted, was shown to the jury at trial.
The state argued that the video was important to show Ricks’ demeanor. He was also missing his wedding ring.
The defense objected that showing the video amounted to a violation of Ricks’ Fifth Amendment right. The trial court allowed the video to be seen by the jury and the higher court found that doing so was not in conflict with Ricks’ constitutional rights.
“After Ricks informed (NBPD Detective Jasmine) Baker that he no longer wished to speak, she informed him that he was free to leave at any time and that she was not holding him against his will. Baker then accompanied Ricks to the door. It was only then, however, that Ricks decided to remain seated for a while. After several more minutes, and some intervening conversation between Ricks and Baker, Ricks indicated that he wished to leave, and he did leave,” the 6th’s opinion states.
While Ricks continues to serve time for his misconduct with the female guardsman, he was acquitted in 2010 by a Red River County, Texas, jury of breaking into a different woman’s Clarksville, Texas, home in 2008 and attempting to sexually assault her, according to earlier reports. Ricks was home on leave at the time.
According to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice website, Ricks will be eligible for parole April 29, 2035. He is being held at the Joe Gurney Unit in Palestine, Texas. He will have completely served his time Oct. 28, 2052.