News

Defendants sent to prison for statutory rape, neglect of disabled

By Lightning Reports, Published: September 1, 2019

A Hendersonville man was sentenced to more than 15 years in prison after he pleaded guilty in Henderson County Superior Court to three counts of statutory rape, District Attorney Greg Newman announced.

Edgar Resendiz, of 216 Mills Street, was sentenced to a prison term of 15 years and five months. The defendant was indicted for having sex with a 14-year-old girl in July 2018. Resendiz, 31 at the time of the crimes, would arrange to pick up the girl from a local health club and have sex with her in his car. The victim’s parents took her to the Sheriff’s Department to report the matter. The defendant was later apprehended and questioned by detectives. Resendiz admitted to the crimes and was immediately taken into custody. Resendiz must also register as a sex offender. He will eligible for release upon serving a minimum sentence of 12 years.

Also in Henderson County, Johnny Thaxton Jr., of Asheville, pleaded guilty to two counts of burglary and robbery with a dangerous weapon and was sentenced to a prison term of 12 years and two months. Thaxton broke into a local residence occupied by two men and attacked the men with a gun, authorities said. Three other persons committed the break in with Thaxton. Two co-defendants have pleaded guilty and one case remains open on the third individual. Both residents of the home fought with the defendant and subdued him until the sheriff’s deputies. One of the residents was covered in blood and all three men showed signs of involvement in a violent fight. Thaxton was treated for his injuries at a hospital and confessed to the crime. He is eligible for release after serving nine years and three months.

In another case in Superior Court, Christopher Glen Hall, of 112 Warlick Road, Mills River, pleaded guilty in Henderson County Superior Court to neglect of a disabled person causing serious injury, misdemeanor child abuse and cruelty to animals and was sentenced to 2½ years in prison. Hall’s spouse, who was wheelchair-bound, had been in bed for 6-7 days needing medical attention.  Sheriff’s deputies and social workers determined that the condition of the home contributed to the spouse’s illness and also placed the couple’s minor child at risk. Hall’s wife was subsequently hospitalized and the child was placed into the care of social services. Several dogs and cats found in the home were malnourished. Hall is eligible for release after serving 17 months.

In Transylvania County Superior Court in Brevard, Jarred Hogg, of Middleburg, Florida, pleaded guilty to robbery with a dangerous weapon in an armed robbery of the Triangle Stop in Pisgah Forest on Feb. 4, 2018. Hogg was sentenced to seven years, five months in prison. Co-defendant, Breanna Moffo, Hogg’s girlfriend, previously pleaded guilty to two counts of child abuse for waiting in car with minor children while the defendant was robbing the clerk in the convenient store. The defendant pointed a handgun at the clerk when he demanded money from her cash drawer, the news release said. Surveillance video and a tip from a witness who overheard Moffo talk about the robbery led to the arrest of both Hogg and Moffo. Apprehended in Florida, Hogg confessed to detectives. He will be eligible for release after serving five years and four months.

Other active prison sentences from Henderson County Superior Court include:

• Jeffrey Brown, 642 Cherry Street, 21 months for habitual larceny (shoplifting offense);

• Stanton Hatcher, 16 Dalton Pine Ridge Road, felony hit and run causing injury, 19 months;

• Ruth Langford, 48 Nash Lane, possession of methamphetamine, 20 months;

• Thang Mang, 1003 John Delk Road, assault on a female causing serious bodily injury, 32 months;

• Alfred Williams, 1119 Green River Road, Zirconia, habitual felon (possession of cocaine), 56 months.