Rockwall Jury Convicts Dallas Man of Felony DWI, Sentences Him to 10 Years

James William Travis, 44, received a ten-year prison sentence from Judge David Rakow after a Rockwall County jury convicted him of driving while intoxicated for at least the third time, a verdict prosecutors won by keeping public safety at the center of the case.

The jury found Travis, a Dallas County resident, guilty of the felony offense of Driving While Intoxicated Third or More on March 10, 2026. Fifteen days later, Rakow, presiding over the 439th Judicial District Court, sentenced Travis to ten years. Under Texas law, a third DWI conviction is a third-degree felony carrying a standard punishment range of two to ten years in state prison; Travis received the top of that range.

The charge's statutory label, "Third or More," established that Travis had been convicted of impaired driving on at least two prior occasions. By selecting the upper end of the punishment range rather than a sentence somewhere in its lower or middle portion, the jury delivered an unambiguous message about Rockwall County's tolerance for repeat offenders.

How long Travis remains off Texas roads may depend as much on the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles as on the ten-year sentence itself. Under state law, a person convicted of driving while intoxicated becomes eligible for parole consideration after serving one-quarter of the sentence, placing Travis's earliest possible eligibility date roughly two and a half years into his term. Parole is never guaranteed; the board weighs behavior, risk assessments, and supervision plans before making any determination.

The verdict marks the second major repeat DWI sentencing out of Rockwall County courts this month. On March 3, 503rd Judicial District Judge Brian Williams sentenced Hunt County resident Terry Wayne Brand, 67, to twenty years after a blood test returned a blood-alcohol concentration of .165, more than twice the legal limit.

The back-to-back sentences carry a broader deterrence signal: for repeat DWI offenders who end up before a Rockwall County jury, the courthouse is no longer a place where prior convictions translate into probation and a second chance.