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Murder defendant agrees to plead guilty to lesser charge, sentenced to probation
Relatives of Jessica Perry say they are furious and fearful after Jason Meinelt — the man who admitted assaulting Perry and causing her death — received eight years deferred probation instead of prison time. FOX 26's Randy Wallace explains.
HARRIS COUNTY, Texas - Relatives of Jessica Perry say they are furious and fearful after Jason Meinelt — the man who admitted assaulting Perry and causing her death — received eight years deferred probation instead of prison time. The sentencing is now drawing renewed scrutiny over a court filing in which Meinelt swore he had never been convicted of a felony, despite records indicating otherwise.
Breaking Bond: Murder defendant agrees to plead guilty to lesser charge, sentenced to probation
What we know:
We did our first Breaking Bond report on Jason Meinelt in 2024. At that time, he was free on a personal recognizance bond when he murdered 50-year-old Jessica Perry.
Last week, Meinelt plead guilty to assault of a family member causing death. He was sentenced to eight years deferred probation by 338th Criminal Court Judge Michelle Onken.
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Jessica's relatives aren't happy with that sentence. Two of them agreed to talk with us as long as we didn't identify them as they say they are afraid of Meinelt.
"We are extremely disappointed with the judge who made the decision on sentencing," one relative said. "It makes me really sad for society. We let this criminal out, back out in the streets, to possibly do this to someone else when we could have prevented that."
Questions are now being raised about a court document in Meinelt's file. He signed a motion for community supervision and swore he had never been convicted of a felony.
That's not the case. FOX 26 asked the Harris County District Attorney's Office about the document.
A spokesperson said she had no knowledge of the document but sent a statement, "Our prosecutors argued this defendant should face prison time for brutally assaulting Jessica Perry, recklessly causing her death. The judge sentenced him to eight years, deferred. Jessica’s story shows the complex, escalating patterns of domestic abuse. As prosecutors, we will continue pushing for accountability in every case, while fighting for all domestic abuse victims, survivors, and their families who live with the ripple effect of tragedy."
The Source: Court records, relatives of Jessica Perry, statement from Harris County District Attorney's Office