After almost five hours of deliberations, a guilty verdict was handed down on Thursday to Jesse Leatherwood

The McAllen man showed almost no emotion as he learned his fate. He had been on trial since Monday on a charge of intoxication manslaughter in connection with the death of Cameron County Deputy Constable Ruben Garcia.

Garcia died after a vehicle driven by Leatherwood crashed into his unit in Brownsville on Sept. 2024, according to authorities. Garcia was on his phone when the crash happened.

“Finally, the verdict was released and it's what it should have been,” Cameron County Precinct 1 Constable Norman Esquivel said.

Friends and relatives of Garcia hugged each other in the courtroom after the verdict. 

The jury came to their decision after they were shown evidence and heard testimony for four days.

The state argued drugs affected Leatherwood's driving at the time of the crash. Jurors were shown urine and blood samples of Leatherwood's that were positive for opioids and cocaine. 

During his testimony, Leatherwood admitted to the drug use. He cried and said it was his fault that Garcia died.  

The jury will come back on Monday to decide Leatherwood’s punishment. He faces up to life in prison.

Watch the video above for the full story.