WICHITA FALLS ( KFDX/KJTL ) — A tearful defendant is sentenced to prison Thursday morning in connection with a bar brawl that led to two stabbings and one man’s death in 2020.

Rosendo Espino agreed to plead guilty to aggravated assault with a deadly weapon of one victim and 89th District Judge Charles Barnard sentenced him to 5 years in prison.

Espino had originally been scheduled to go to trial in 2022 for the murder of Evan Aleman at O’Brien’s Sports Pub on North Scott. But the district attorney requested his murder charge be dismissed and Espino only be tried for the assault charge of another man.

The motion stated Espino would stand trial for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon because prosecutors say he instigated the altercation at the bar.

On July 26, 2024, Espino signed a judicial confession to the charge. He faced a range of 2 to 20 years in prison.

Espino’s attorneys had maintained since the case was filed that Espino would be cleared of the murder of Aleman and that he had passed a polygraph exam by the Wichita Falls Police Department, which backed his statement he did not stab or kill anyone that night.

The other two defendants, Jorge Soto and James “Hollywood” Henderson, are awaiting trial for murder, with Henderson’s scheduled for next April.

Police said Aleman was stabbed in the parking lot, and another man was also beaten and stabbed.

This is a developing story. Stick with Texoma’s Homepage for updates as more information becomes available. All individuals charged with a crime are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

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