(Seguin) — A 28 year old man will be spending the rest of his life behind bars.
On Friday, a Guadalupe County jury sentenced Dylan Alvarez, 28, to 80 years in prison for the first-degree felony offenses of Burglary of Habitation and Aggravated Robbery.
According to the office of Dave Willborn, Guadalupe County Attorney, in a trial that began on Monday, April 6th, a jury heard evidence that Carol Schaefer Taylor, 61 at the time, went over to her daughter’s house on July 5th, 2022, to help care for Taylor’s granddaughter and son-in-law, who had just a few weeks prior been seriously injured in a wreck involving an eighteen-wheeler and who, as a result of those injuries, had started physical therapy that day.
When Taylor arrived at the residence at 4 p.m, the defendant exited her daughter’s home armed with one of her daughter’s firearms, ordered Taylor inside, put the gun to the back of her head, and pulled the trigger twice. The gun did not fire either time, and the woman then struggled with Alvarez over the gun. Once disarmed of the gun, Alvarez, picked up a hatchet that he had staged nearby, and said to Taylor, “I have another way to do this”. The woman then ran into a nearby bathroom and locked herself inside. Alvarez then took a rifle belonging to Taylor’s son, went outside, and shot a round through the bathroom window, flushing her out of the bathroom. He then met Taylor back inside the residence, pointed the rifle at her head, and fired a round. She managed to grab the barrel of the rifle as it was being fired and directed the shot up into the ceiling, burning her hand and saving her own life in the process. A second fight between Taor and Alvarez ensued, with her successfully getting the rifle away from him and rendering it inoperable. She then fled the scene to a neighbor’s property to call 911 while Alvarez stole her vehicle, cellphone, and purse and fled before law enforcement could arrive. He was later located two and a half weeks in Arkansas and arrested.
The jury heard evidence that Alvarez’ fingerprints were found on items inside the residence and that his DNA was found inside her vehicle when it was recovered three months later.
Neither Taylor nor anyone in her family knew Alvarez beforethat date. Alvarez testified in his own defense during guilt and attempted to claim it wasn’t he who attempted to kill her but the jury rejected that argument and found him guilty of both charges on April 9th.
Evidence on punishment began that same day where the State presented evidence that the day before attempting to murder Taylor, Alvarez had broken into another residence in GuadalupeCounty and shot the owner’s two dogs, killing one of them, and taking the vehicle of the homeowner who was not present at the time of that offense. The jury also heard evidence that Alvarez was caught in possession of an improvised weapon in the Guadalupe Jail while awaiting trial in October of 2023.
That evidence contributed to the eighty-year sentence in both counts, which will be served concurrently. The jury also assessed a $10,000 fine in each count. Judge Brenda Chapman presided over the trial. The State was represented by Assistant County Attorneys Michael McCarthy and Maritza Stewart. During testimony, McCarthy went on to state the following regarding Carol Schaefer Taylor:
“Our office is incredibly impressed with the toughness, will to live, and selflessness Ms. Schaefer Taylor displayed throughout her incredible ordeal. She fought off four separate attempts to murder her by the defendant and after successfully doing so, her first thoughts were for the safety of her family instead of herself. Her bravery has inspired everyone who works for the Guadalupe County Attorney’s Office.”
The defense in the case was represented by Attorneys Kyle Ernst and Rick Vestal.