BEAUMONT, Texas — A 31-year-old Port Arthur man on trial for robbing and beating a Groves woman with a BB gun last January changed his plea to guilty after hearing the state's case against him.
DeRodzia Mitchell, 31, changed his plea to guilty this week and was sentenced to 10 years in prison for the robbery according to a news release from the Jefferson County District Attorney's Office.
At the time he robbed and beat the woman at a Groves apartment complex in January 2020, he was on parole for a burglary conviction in 2017 the release said.
Mitchell, holding a gun in his hand, confronted the woman as she was walking toward her boyfriend's apartment and demanded cash according to the release.
When she told him she didn't have any money he hit her several times with the gun.
Mitchell's girlfriend, Jamie Alfred, was with him and she then began to fight with the victim before the pair stole the woman's wallet and cell phone according to the release.
Alfred pleaded guilty to her involvement in the robbery and received 10 years probation in 2020 after she spent three months in jail according to prosecutor Luke Nichols.
The woman was being treated the next morning at Christus St. Elizabeth hospital for injuries to her head and face when officers spoke to her and got the name and description of her assailant.
Police stopped Mitchell and arrested him not long after the release said.
When arrested he had a BB gun that matched the description of the gun used to beat the woman.
From a Jefferson County District Attorney's Office news release...
Jefferson County Criminal District Attorney Bob Wortham announced today that Derodzia Mitchell, 31, of Port Arthur, pleaded guilty in Judge Raquel West’s 252nd Criminal District Court.
After Prosecutor Luke Nichols presented the State’s case against Mitchell, he changed his plea to guilty and was sentenced to 10 years in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.
Mitchell was convicted of the January 19, 2020 robbery of a woman at a Groves apartment complex. As the woman approached her boyfriend’s apartment, Mitchell stepped out with a weapon in his hand and demanded money from her. When she told him she had no money, he struck her several times with the weapon. Mitchell’s girlfriend then began fighting with the victim. The pair then took the victim’s wallet and cell phone.
The victim arrived at Christus Emergency Room the next morning for treatment of injuries to her head and face. Groves police officers arrived at the ER and learned the name and description of the assailant. Mitchell was stopped and arrested a short time later in possession of a BB pistol which matched the description of the weapon used to beat the victim.
Derodziya Mitchell had been convicted of Burglary in 2017 and was out on parole at the time of this offense.
This case was investigated by the City of Groves Police Department.