Guilty Plea from September 2023
Man pleads guilty to murder, 79-year-old man who was beaten and robbed
David Hampton, 57, pleaded guilty to a lesser murder charge in the 2019 death of Celestino Rodriguez, 79.
Authorities previously said Rodriguez was reported missing by his family on August 3, 2019. A Silver Alert was issued a couple days later, then canceled after his unoccupied car was found near Temple, Texas. A shoe and a cane were found in the vehicle, court documents stated.
According to an arrest warrant, it all started with a plan to rob Rodriguez of his government check and his car. Court documents said Heather Casias recruited Hampton to help with the robbery. Court records stated Casias lured Rodriguez to a preplanned location, and watched Hampton and Brett Garza assault him until he was unresponsive.
Police said a man named Toby Daughtry was seen walking along a highway in Milam County on August 8. According to court records, the warrant said Daughtry told someone the car was stolen, and he got it from someone who had beaten up an old man. Court records stated Daughtry and Amanda Blagburn drove the car around Milano, Texas, until Hampton told her to get rid of the car because “it was involved in something bad.”
Police later found Rodriguez’s body in a field northwest of Abernathy. A total of six people faced charges in connection with his death. Authorities said Hampton, Casias and Garza were charged with murder. Daughtry and Blagburn were charged with Unauthorized Use of a Motor Vehicle. Freddie Salinas and James Anderson were charged with tampering with evidence.
Hampton’s trial in 2022 ended with a mistrial after witnesses for the government made multiple prohibited statements about Hampton’s prior criminal history. He will be sentenced at a later date. He faces a punishment ranging from five years to life in prison.
The statuses of other cases were not immediately available.