Lubbock man who stabbed two deputies sentenced to 70 years in prison
A District judge told 31-year old Miko Butler on Friday that the evidence before him clearly showed he was a danger to the public and needed to be in prison for a long time.
District Judge William Eichman sentenced Butler to 70 years in prison for stabbing two Lubbock County Sheriff's deputies who were trying to arrest Butler for shoplifting two years ago at a South Lubbock Walmart.
The sentence came after a three-day punishment bench trial that began on Monday when Butler pleaded guilty to two counts of aggravated assault on a public servant, a first-degree felony that carries a punishment of 5 years to life in prison. A prior conviction for burglary of a habitation was used to raise his minimum punishment level to 15 years.
Eichman gave Butler 70-year prison sentences for each count, which will run concurrently.
Butler's plea did not result from a deal with the Lubbock County District Attorney's Office and he chose Eichman instead of a jury to determine his punishment.
Since the offense is considered aggravated, Butler will have to serve 30 years before he is eligible to apply for parole.
The courtroom was packed with members of the Lubbock County Sheriff's Office. A handful of Butler's family members also sat in the courtroom.
During the bench trial, Eichman was presented with evidence of the June 20, 2020, stabbing that included footage from security cameras from Walmart and body camera videos. He also watched video of Butler's arrest and heard from jailers about his behavior in at the Lubbock County Detention Center, where he has been held since his arrest.
Shoplifting evidence
De Larossa told the court that he'd taken a shift providing security shift at Walmart and was called to the store's loss-prevention office to watch live footage of an apparent shop lifter.
Video from Walmart played in court showed a man, identified as Butler, pushing a shopping cart through the electronics department and loading items including a GPS device, three copies of the "Smurfs" DVD and other items.
Butler could be seen taking a pair of glasses out of its packaging and wearing them before taking a backpack and a handbag off their shelves and loading it into the cart. He was also seen taking a hammer from the hardware section.
At some point, Butler walked to a secluded area of the store where he could be seen loading the electronics into the bags and head for the store's garden center.
Butler could be seen walking past the cash registers without paying stolen items and out of the store, where De Larossa confronts him.
Video from De Larossa's body-worn camera showed the deputy confront, ordering him to drop the hammer. Butler drops the hammer but walks away from the deputy, telling him he paid for the items.
The video showed De Larossa walking about 10-12 feet behind Butler repeatedly telling him to stop and put down the stolen merchandise. However, Butler continued to walk away from the deputy repeatedly saying that he'd paid for the items.
Meanwhile De Larossa can be heard asking for backup on the radio and narrating Butler's actions, including reaching into his waistband, to a loss prevention officer he was on the phone with.
De Larossa followed Butler for about 300 yards until the two reached egress of the iHop restaurant when Galvas arrives in a marked Lubbock County Sheriff's patrol Tahoe.
At that point, Butler runs across the South Loop 289 access road and De Larossa chases after him. Butler could be seen turning around, knife in hand, stabbing De Larossa twice, before turning to Galvaz, as De Larossa screams out that Butler was armed with a knife.
Galvaz could be heard screaming as Butler stabs him twice, once in the neck and once in the left arm, before running away northbound to the Melonie Park neighborhood.
De Larossa told the court that he decided not to chase after Butler, saying his focus was now on treating Galvaz.
He told the court at that point he believed he was cleared to use deadly force and shoot Butler, but didn't because of the number of motorists around him that day.
"At that point it was pretty much self care, buddy care situation," he said.
De Larossa said he suffered wounds on the left side of his head, including a severed ear and a stab wound on his shoulder and lower left forearm.
De Larossa was released from the hospital later that night.
Both deputies told the court that the attack did not deter them from continuing to serve the community as law enforcement officers.
De Larossa is now a supervisor in the gang intelligence unit and Galvaz works as part of the Texas Anti-Gang Unit. Both men also serve as members of the sheriff's office SWAT team.
However, Galvaz told the court that his recovery and return to law enforcement took a lot of effort.
Galvaz, who is left-handed, told the court the injury to his left arm was so severe he was afraid surgeons would amputate it. His injuries also required multiple surgeries, including a procedure that transferred part of his ulnar nerve to his radial nerve.
He said as he healed, he had to re-learn how to do his job using his right-hand.
"I wasn't going to let the injury, the mental state ... I wanted to overcome that and keep pushing forward," he said.
However, Galvaz continues to feel pain in his left arm and has 70-80 percent mobility in his left hand and anticipates another surgical procedure in the future.
De Larossa told the court after he returned to duty, his experience inspired him to specialize in emergency first aid and is now a certified medical instructor, teaching law enforcement officers and civilians how to administer first aid in stressful situations.
Jail threats
Eichman also heard testimony from Lubbock County Jailers about Butler's behavior in jail while awaiting trial for this case.
In one episode, jailers used a stun gun on Butler after he refused to come out of his cell for a TB shot. Video from a jailer's body-worn camera showed Butler cursing and threatening jailers as they carried him into a disciplinary cell.
"I wish I had a gun so I can shoot you," Butler could be heard saying.
In another episode, a jailer told the court that Butler threatened her after his pod was being disciplined for disobeying an order the day before.
The jailer told the court, Butler spoke into his cell's intercom and told her to "come into my cell (expletive) and see what happens."
Prosecutor Courtney Boyd told the court that Butler's actions earned him a life sentence.
She said De Larossa and Galvaz made a choice to put their lives on the line to protect the community, while Butler history showed he chose a life of crime.
"There has to be severe consequences for people who are designed to stop crime in our community and this is what they get," she said.
She said up until he attacked the deputies, Butler was facing a misdemeanor theft charge had he complied with De Larossa.
"At any point he could have made the right choice," she said.
Boyd told the court that Butler's bone-chilling attack wasn't a result of being on drugs or alcohol.
"When this assault hat happens, he's stone cold sober," she said. "He is a constant danger to society."
Court records show Butler was found competent to stand trial and there was no evidence that mental health issues contributed to the offense.
Defense attorney Jeff Nicholson asked the court to consider his client's guilty plea as a mitigating factor when devising the punishment.
He compared Butler to previous clients who were determined to go to trial and not take responsibility for their actions despite the overwhelming evidence against them.
He said in this case, Butler, who did not testify during the bench trial, listened to his advice.
"That acceptance of responsibility is worth something," he told the court.
Eichman told Butler that the only mitigating factors in his case was that he pleaded guilty, taking responsibility for his actions, and that neither officer died.
However, the Eichman told Butler he hasn't shown any remorse. He said the "stunning" attack on the deputies and his behavior at the jail threatening jailers showed that he was a threat to the community.
"You are a danger to society and the public is not safe," he said.
The courtroom was packed with members of the Lubbock County Sheriff's Office.
A handful of Butler's family also attended the trial. They walked out of the courtroom after Eichman handed Butler his sentence.
Deputies arrested one of his brothers, 29-year-old Jeremy Johnson, shortly after outside the courthouse for terroristic threat. Lubbock County Sheriff's deputies reportedly overheard Johnson threaten to kill everyone in the courthouse after his brother was sentenced.
He was booked into the Lubbock County Detention Center where he remains as of Friday.
In his victim impact statement, Galvaz told Butler that his evil actions that day might have changed his life but they did not break him and he has now adapted and overcome his injuries to continue to serve the community, including his family.
"I wish no evil upon you but you deserve to be incarcerated for the rest of your life," he said. "You didn't break me, nor did you win."
De Larossa told Butler that he's not ready to forgive him yet and said he hoped Butler learned not to attack law enforcement again.
"You tried to kill me, you tied to kill my brother, I'm going to be honest -- you're not very good at it," he told Butler. "You ran. You didn't stay there. You didn't finish me off."
Nicholson said after the trial that the emotions in the case, particularly the political climate at the time of the offense, escalated its difficulty. However, he believed Eichman's sentence was based on the evidence before him.
"I believe it was based on the fact that officer Galvaz has a very devastating permanent injury and things along those lines and I cannot say that I expected anything different if much different at all under those circumstances," he said.
He said he anticipates Butler will appeal his sentence.
Boyd said the sentence Eichman handed Butler is within the realm of a life sentence and reflects the danger the defendant posed to society.
"Anything 60-plus is going to be the same result of eligible after parole after 30 years so, I think the judge is making a point with that 70, we're happy with it," she said. "It's a life-worthy case to me, but 70 is the same result."
Boyd said the case also highlighted the community's appreciation and respect for law enforcement which was on display in the video evidence that showed passers by rushing to help the deputies.
"That is why we put in some of the videos into evidence that we did," she said. "Because we wanted the judge to see, how, thank goodness, Lubbock is Lubbock. and so many people stopped and either gave aid to both of these officers; gave water had medical supplies in their cars and again, this is during a scary time during COVID where they're not really wanting to be around blood and all that and these people stopped, they helped ... That is overwhelming. so, I think that speaks to what a great community that we live in."
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Judge sentences man to 70 years for stabbing deputies in 2020
