Inset: Joshua Bermea (Comal County District Attorney's Office). Background: The Comal County Sheriff's Office in New Braunfels, Texas (Google Maps).
A Texas man will spend several decades behind bars after abusing a woman he once dated, according to Lone Star State authorities.
On Thursday, Joshua Bermea, 20, pleaded guilty to one count of burglary of a habitation with intent to commit a felony other than theft. He also pleaded guilty to a separate drug offense.
The defendant was swiftly sentenced by 274th District Court Judge Gary Steel to 40 years in prison for the burglary conviction with an additional 10 years for the drug-related conviction. The court assessed the sentences to run consecutively, or one after another.
The underlying incidents date back to the fall of 2023, according to a press release issued by the Comal County District Attorney's Office.
After the woman dumped the defendant, Bermea continued to harass and threaten her, authorities said.
On Sept. 22, 2023, the victim told police Bermea followed her in his vehicle while he was calling her on the phone and threatening her. During this harassment, the since-condemned man told the woman he was going to rear end her vehicle.
In one message, he said: "Imma make you live in hell."
And the abuse indeed continued.
On Nov. 8, 2023, through the course of just that one day in question, Bermea sent approximately 250 text messages to the victim. Many of those messages were threatening, aggressive, and derogatory, prosecutors said. Specifically, the defendant threatened to kill the victim, hurt her family, and slash the tires on her vehicle.
In one message, the defendant told the woman: "Imma hurt the [expletive] outta you just [expletive] wait."
On Nov. 9, 2023, the woman reported that she had been assaulted by Bermea, according to the New Braunfels Police Department.
"Bermea entered the victim's home without permission," the DA's office explained. "When she told him to leave, he took her phone and began assaulting her. He slapped and backhanded her repeatedly, pushed her to the ground, and punched her in the body and legs. At one point, Bermea placed both hands around her neck and choked her, preventing her from breathing."
During the attack, Bermea hit the woman so hard that one of her ears began to ring and she briefly lost her hearing, law enforcement said.
After the attack, Bermea dropped and broke the woman's phone. After leaving the scene of the crime, he sent the victim another message that read: "I'll be back one night to finish, where's your protector, he wasn't there, nobody to protect you, you a [expletive]."
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