A plea agreement agreed with prosecutors means that a 22-year-old guy in Texas who is accused of kidnapping and detaining a woman against her will for almost a week as he beat and sexually assaulted her will not go to prison. The victim was met on the dating app Bumble.
Zachary Kent Mills was sentenced to two years of probation and 80 hours of community service by Harris County Criminal Court Judge Genesis Draper earlier this month for the 2022 incident, according to court records.
The judge also mandated that Mills refrain from using alcohol or drugs, stay away from the victim, and donate $50 to a women’s shelter as part of the deal.
After striking a settlement with the Harris County District Attorney’s Office, Mills—who had initially been charged with one count of felony aggravated kidnapping—agreed to enter a guilty plea to a reduced charge of misdemeanor assault causing bodily damage.
In addition, Mills was granted a deferred adjudication of guilt, which would spare him from going to jail as well as a criminal record.
According to the Texas Senate Jurisprudence Committee, Mills’ deferred adjudication is “a special form of judge-ordered community supervision (commonly known as “probation”) that permits a defendant to accept responsibility for a crime without an actual conviction being placed on the record.”
This implies that the charges against Mills will be dropped if he successfully completes his two years of probation.
After Mills was first arrested, his lawyer indicated that his client strongly refuted the accusations made against him and suggested that there was more to the tale than what the victim told the police.
“We have a very strong stance that a lot of these did not occur,” defense attorney Chris Denuna stated. “I think that will show that there’s more to it in their relationship. I think it will show that there’s a history between them. That they’ve spent numerous occasions together amongst other people, whether it’s friends, family that can vouch for their relationship from what they’ve seen as a third-party witness, that can vouch for their characters.”
On December 29, deputies from the Harris County Constable’s Office Precinct 4 responded to an emergency call at the Houston Methodist Spring Emergency Care Center concerning a female patient who was allegedly the victim of an attack.
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The victim, known as “J.W.” in court records, told detectives she met Mills on Bumble and the two “started a romantic relationship,” according to the information. When the victim and Mills first met in person was not immediately apparent from the document.
Authorities were informed by J.W. that she consented to see Mills on Christmas Eve at his apartment in the 8000 block of Augusta Pines, and that “as soon as we entered” Mills’ apartment, he “attempted to start having sexual intercourse” with her.
“When [J.W.] denied the defendant’s sexual advances, he immediately began to physically assault her and would not let her leave the residence,” as per the affidavit. “[J.W.] advised when he assaulted her, he would strike her using closed fist. Defendant would also bit her on the neck and face. [J.W.] stated when the defendant’s hands got tired from hitting her, he would grab a screwdriver and would strike her with the handle of the screwdriver causing serious bodily injury.”
The victim claimed that she tried to leave Mills’ house multiple times, but each time Mills allegedly stopped her and attacked her once again. She also said that Mills did not provide her any food or drink during the entire period she was being held against her will.
When Mills left the house to go to his father’s place, J.W. told the police that she was finally allowed to leave the house.
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“At that point [J.W.] gathered up her clothes and ran out the door and contacted the first people who she came in contact with and advised them of what had occurred.” according to the affidavit.
