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Plea deal struck as jury deliberated

WACO, Texas (KWTX) - A 32-year-old Waco man charged with sexually abusing a teenager in an escalating series of assaults in McLennan and Falls counties took the decision out of a jury’s hands Wednesday by pleading guilty.

Jurors in Waco’s 19th State District Court had been deliberating about five hours when Joseph Juilo Scott reached a plea bargain with the McLennan County District Attorney’s Office that landed him on deferred probation for seven years.

The jury of nine women and three men told court officials about 5 p.m. the panel was deadlocked 7-5 in favor of guilt.

Judge Thomas West instructed the jury to continue deliberating, which it was doing when the plea bargain was reached.

In deferred probation cases there is no final judgement of guilt if a defendant successfully completes the terms of probation.

Despite no finding of guilt, Scott, who pleaded guilty to sexual assault of a child, is required by statute to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.

Prosecutors Tara Avants and Luke McCowan said in a joint statement that they will seek the maximum 20-year sentence against Scott if he violates any terms of his probation.

“After considering an inevitable hung jury, and consulting with our victim and her family, we made the decision to reach a plea bargain agreement in this case. We are grateful this incredibly brave victim came forward, but in the end, hearing this defendant admit his guilt was most important for her to have closure.”

Avants said prosecutors also took into consideration that the victim had been waiting for her day in court for four years, adding that Scott’s wavier of appeal and being on intensive sex offender probation for seven years was best for the victim’s family.

Scott, who is in a long-term relationship with the victim’s cousin, is the father of four children with a fifth on the way.

Also under the plea agreement, Falls County officials will refuse the related pending sexual assault charge there.

Scott’s attorney, Jonathan Sibley, said that he is happy for Scott and his family and happy that he gets to be home with them tonight.

“I know his family and his children mean everything to him and this deal will allow him to move forward and close this chapter of his life and spend time doing what he’s best at, being a father. With the jury deadlocked, this ensures he will avoid a felony conviction and that this matter is permanently behind him.”

In defense testimony late Tuesday and Wednesday Sibley called members of his wife’s family with whom he and his wife and the victim lived in Chilton and Bellmead at various times in 2021.

Sibley also called a former Chilton High School student, who told jurors that the victim in the case falsely accused him of touching her improperly while the girl was in junior high.

Members of Scott’s wife’s family testified that the woman, who is now 20, is a known liar, but they could come up with no explanation for why she would make up the allegations against Scott.

“It’s a story,” Sibley said in jury summations Wednesday. “It’s a story. I think that sums up this case pretty well.”

Sibley said the woman reported the sexual abuse allegations after she got into trouble at home for watching pornographic videos on her phone.

The woman told jurors Tuesday Scott started groping her breasts and buttocks when she was 14 and living with her great-grandmother in Chilton.

“It just felt weird and I got uncomfortable,” she said. “I just thought, ‘Why is he touching my boobs?’”

About a month later, Scott grabbed her head and forced her to perform a sex act on him, she said.

Scott and her cousin moved from her great-grandmother’s home, but Scott left his dogs there and returned daily to care for them, she said. She was watching TV one day when Scott came in, removed her pants and sexually assaulted her, she said. She said she kicked him but could not fight off his assault.

Scott sexually assaulted her again in July 2021 while Scott’s infant child was asleep in the same room, she said.

The assault occurred when she was living with her aunt in Bellmead, she testified.

Chanise Shaw, the mother of Scott’s children, testified Thursday they have been together 13 years and said Scott is a devoted husband and protective father.

She said it was not possible for Scott to have assaulted the woman at the homes in Chilton and Bellmead because the homes were always full of family members, who would have been alerted to such incidents.

Avants, who is prosecuted Scott with McCowan, asked her if she and Scott ever had sexual relations at those homes without the knowledge of others in the home. She said they have.

In summations, McCowan told jurors the woman has no reason and nothing to gain from fabricating the allegations against Scott.

Sibley said she lied to get out of trouble and those lies turned into “a snowball of lies that’s been rolling down this hill for four years now.”

Avants said in summations that attacking the victim “is the oldest defense in the book” and told jurors that if they believe the woman, they must convict Scott.

Copyright 2025 KWTX. All rights reserved.

Concert by chart-topping vocal powerhouse coincides with Family Weekend, Baylor-Samford football game

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Lauren Daigle, a two-time GRAMMY®, seven-time Billboard Music, four-time American Music and 12-time GMA Dove Award winner, is set to perform in concert at Baylor University’s Paul and Alejandra Foster Pavilion at 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 12.

Daigle’s concert kicks off Baylor’s Family Weekend Sept. 12-13, which includes Saturday’s Baylor-Samford football game.

Lauren Daigle Ticket Information

Ticket Presale: Presale for Bear Foundation members and Baylor parents will begin Wednesday, April 9, at 10 a.m. CT. Parents will receive an email with presale information late Tuesday afternoon and Bear Foundation members should look for an email around 9 a.m. CT Wednesday.

Public On Sale: Friday, April 11, at 10 a.m. CT at baylor.edu/fosterevents.

Since her GRAMMY® Award-winning, two-time platinum album Look Up Child (2018) – featuring the unforgettable six-time platinum-certified anthem “You Say” – Lauren Daigle’s music has been an unstoppable force on the charts. When Look Up Child debuted at No. 3 on the Top 200 Albums chart, Daigle became the first female artist ever to break into the Top 10 on both Billboard’s Pop and Christian Album charts – a history-making moment that stunned fans and critics alike.

With her recent self-titled album, nominated for yet another GRAMMY®, and its lead single, “Thank God I Do,” Daigle scored her sixth Billboard No. 1, pushing her to over a billion streams. She has sold out world tours with performances on four continents and recently wowed more than 100 million U.S. viewers with her rendition of “America the Beautiful” (with Trombone Shorty) at Super Bowl LIX, held in her home state of Louisiana. In March, she performed before a packed house (also Baylor Night) at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. Her status as a once-in-a-generation vocal powerhouse is undeniable.

Yet for Daigle, success is about something greater: giving back. In 2018, she launched The Price Fund, a foundation with a mission close to her heart – serving at-risk youth, children, and the elderly. Thanks to her dedication, The Price Fund has distributed nearly $3.5 million to nonprofits worldwide, making waves of change wherever it touches.

Don’t miss Lauren Daigle in concert at 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 12, at Foster Pavilion in Waco, Texas. For more information or to purchase concert tickets, visit baylor.edu/fosterevents.

ABOUT BAYLOR UNIVERSITY

Baylor University is a private Christian University and a nationally ranked Research 1 institution. The University provides a vibrant campus community for more than 20,000 students by blending interdisciplinary research with an international reputation for educational excellence and a faculty commitment to teaching and scholarship. Chartered in 1845 by the Republic of Texas through the efforts of Baptist pioneers, Baylor is the oldest continually operating University in Texas. Located in Waco, Baylor welcomes students from all 50 states and more than 100 countries to study a broad range of degrees among its 12 nationally recognized academic divisions. Learn more about Baylor University at www.baylor.edu.

Blake and Michelle Harrell were hiking along the Brazos River in Waco, Texas searching for river otters when they encountered something just as rare. Sprawled out along the banks of the waterway was an alligator that they estimated measured 7 feet long. The fearsome reptiles are not usually known to inhabit the Brazos, though they have been sighted a handful of times in the Central Texas region in recent years. The couple photographed the unusual sighting, which sparked surprised reactions online.

"There are few gators in the Brazos in Waco. Have been for quite some time," Michelle told Chron. "Mostly you'll find them basking on the banks away from people. They never bother anyone."

Brian Henley with the Cameron Park Zoo told KWTX it is not unusual to see alligators in Texas, but it is rare to see the toothy creatures in the area. Gators are most abundant on the upper Texas coast. Henley believes the alligator could have been caught elsewhere and released into the Brazos.

"The alligators that were found here for a long time had been extirpated," he told the outlet. "There are some records of alligators here from the 1940s, and then through hunting and things like that, they really disappeared."

Alligators were previously spotted swimming in the Brazos River near Waco last year and again in November 2023. The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department confirmed the presence of six juvenile alligators measuring between one and four feet in length in the river. It's unclear if the gator spotted by the Harrells is one of them. It's been months since alligators were last sighted in the Brazos, likely due to their hibernation.

"They can actually dig into the sides of the river and then overwinter in there, or they're able to find other places...overwinter," Henley told KWTX. "Spring, summer is when they'd come out, start looking for food, start looking for mates, things like that."

Due to the rarity of the sightings, TPWD is reportedly keeping a close eye on the alligators and asking people to report any sightings. The state agency is reminding the public to not feed the wild animals, which is a class C misdemeanor punishable by a fine of up to $500.

In July 2024, a trio of alligators was found swimming in a lake near Colorado Drive in Lake Marble Falls, located northwest of Austin. That same year, alligators were also seen swimming in North Texas lakes, where they are also less common.

More Parks & Wildlife

Imposters | No, these gigantic insects in Houston are not mosquitoes.Nutritious | Why Texans are turning to swamp rats for dinnerIllegal | Massive black-market deer breeding operation found in TexasFirings | Texas national parks face unprecedented crowds—and layoffs

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March 27, 2025

Assistant News Editor

Ariana is the assistant news editor of Chron. Her stories focus on space, wildlife, and any weird happenings in Texas. She previously covered community news and breaking news at the Austin American-Statesman for three years. She earned her B.A. in Journalism from the University of Texas at Austin in 2017. She enjoys watching horror films, nurturing her green thumb, and spoiling her dogs rotten.

WACO, Texas (KWTX) - Last year, photos and videos of half a dozen American Alligators in the Brazos river went viral online, and after months of no sightings, it appears they’re back.

Just two weeks ago, on March 12, local photographers Blake and Michelle Harrell captured photos of one of the Waco gators.

Brian Henley with the Cameron Park Zoo explained that while it’s not abnormal to see alligators in this area, it is rare.

“The alligators that were found here for a long time had been extirpated,” he said, “there are some records of alligators here from the 1940s, and then through hunting and things like that, they really disappeared.”

Which leads them to believe that these alligators could have been caught elsewhere and released into the Brazos.

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“It just happens to be a suitable habitat still for them so they’re able to thrive and do well here,” Henley shared.

After months of zero sightings, many people believed they had moved on, but Henley says that’s just because they were likely hibernating.

“They can actually dig into the sides of the river and then over winter in there, or they’re able to find other places to… over winter,” he explained, “spring, summer is when they’d come out, start looking for food, start looking for mates, things like that.”

Now that they’re back out and bigger than they were last year, it begs the question of people’s safety. According to Henley, the alligators in the Brazos aren’t a threat to people.

“Alligators primarily feed on fish, small mammals, like raccoons and opossums, and they will eat a significant amount of turtles. People are not really in their food chain,” he shared.

However, you should never try to approach the gators, and definitely do not feed them.

“You start to run into problems when people are feeding alligators, because when people start to feed alligators or you throw them your fish scraps at the boat dock or something, they start to learn that people are a source of food,” Henley said.

Jon Warner, the alligator program leader with Texas Parks and Wildlife, reiterates that this is not a cause for alarm but that they are keeping a close eye on things, asking people to report any sightings.

They also want to remind people that in Texas the punishment for feeding alligators is a Class C misdemeanor, meaning you would be punishable by a fine of up to $500.

Copyright 2025 KWTX. All rights reserved.

Saturday’s cool morning showers failed to dampen the enthusiasm of more than 15,000 visitors who attended the Texas Food Truck Showdown at downtown Waco’s Heritage Square.

Despite the rain, many of the event’s loyal followers donned souvenir ponchos, provided by Raising Cane’s and Topgolf, and moved among rows of 32 brightly decorated food trucks to exchange a $6 ticket for a 4 ounce serving of each vendor’s signature dish.

Arelena Nixon, who has visited many Showdowns in previous years, said she likes to arrive early to avoid long lines at the food trucks.

“I love trying all the different foods,” Nixon said. “The brisket fries are my favorites, and the cinnamon donuts melt in your mouth. I’d get a food truck of my own, but I can’t cook!”

Food vendors from throughout the state participate in the event to showcase their services, try out new menu items, and compete for the coveted award of Grand Champion.

The 2025 Grand Champion is Frosty Pines, a first-year participant from Tyler. The winning signature dish is Frosty Strawberry Cheesecake — a shaved ice treat topped with a slice of cheesecake, fresh strawberries, whipped cream and shortcake yum crumbs (a confection made popular on Shark Tank).

Taco Station from Corsicana won Grand Champion in 2024. This year, Taco Station won the People’s Choice and International Awards with the signature dish quesabirria — beef in a warm tortilla, sprinkled with cheese and served with dipping sauce.

Owner Yebel Shlimovich says the “secret sauce” to his success is passion.

“I am passionate about trying to make my dishes right. It has to be good or no customers will want to buy the food,” he said. His inspiration came when he worked for well-known Chicago chef Rick Bayless.

“My mother is my other inspiration,” Shlimovich said. “Mother always says, ‘Taste the food before you serve it! Taste the food!’”

STIX of Amarillo won the 2024 People’s Choice Award for the signature dish of bacon-wrapped Brazilian Picanha Steak Espetinho.

“That’s a fancy name for ‘steak on a stick,’” owner Ranee Paoliello said. “The meat I use is hand cut, hand trimmed and hand prepped.”

Ranch Hand from Austin won the 2024 Best International Award for the signature dish peppered beef on a flaky, buttery tortilla called roti bread.

“All our meat is Texas farm-raised with no hormones,” owner Keith O’Riordan said. “We love coming to this event, but we love coming to the town even more. We make it a boys’ weekend and visit local restaurants.”

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Tasmanian Mobile Kitchen from Waxahachie serves a signature dish of hickory-smoked brisket with creamy macaroni and cheese covered with barbeque sauce. Owner Roderick Tasby said they have participated in the Showdown three times, but haven’t won yet.

“We keep coming back to keep the hope alive,” he said. “We want to go home with the gold!”

Organized by the Greater Waco Chamber of Commerce, this year's Texas Food Truck Showdown provided fun for the entire family. Children’s activities, a beer and wine garden, and live music were available throughout the day.

2025 Winners

Grand Champion

Frosty Pines — Frosty Strawberry Cheesecake

People’s Choice

The Taco Station — Quesabirrias

Best Dessert

Sugar Coat It — Fresh-fried mini donuts

Best International

The Taco Station — Quesabirrias

Deep Between the Bread

Brewer Concessions — Donut Grilled Cheese

Southern Style

Home Fries Café — Home smash fries

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