County Offices

Veterans Treatment Court

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The mission of the Galveston County Veterans Treatment Court is to assist Veterans and their families to become integral and productive members of the community through a collaborative effort, and to honor them and restore their dignity for their selfless service to our country; we shall leave no veteran behind.

Contacts

Veterans Treatment Court: (409) 765-2679

VTC Presiding Judge
The Honorable Mark A. Henry
 (USAFR RET 1989 – 2010)
(409) 766-2244

Veterans Court Coordinator
Christopher James
(ARMY RET 2000– 2021)
(409) 765-2679
Christopher.James@galvestoncountytx.gov

VA Veteran Justice Outreach Coordinator
Dr. Edward Henderson
 (713) 503-0151
edward.henderson2@va.gov

VTC Assistant Criminal District Attorney
Tyler Alley
(Note: ADA cannot speak with Defendants)

VTC Defense Attorney
Patrick Gurski
(ARNG 2008 - 2016)
Eiland & Bonnin, PC
2200 Market St., Suite 501
Galveston, TX 77550
(409) 763-3260
pgurski@eilandlaw.com

Compliance Officer
Richard Asta
(Army RET 1989-2013)
(409) 766-2522

Veterans Service Officer
Jeff Gottlob
 (USMC RET 1980 – 2001)
(409) 766-2448

ApplicationTVC FVA Logo

This program is supported by a grant from the Texas Veterans Commission Fund for Veterans’ Assistance. The Fund for Veterans’ Assistance provides grants to organizations serving Texas Veterans and their families. For more information visit, www.TVC.Texas.gov.

If you believe you are a qualifying veteran and would like to apply to the VTC program, please contact any of the above VTC Staff or complete an online application.

Eligibility

To qualify for the VTC a defendant MUST:

  • Be charged with a criminal offense: either felony or misdemeanor in Galveston County
  • Be a US military Veteran, on Active Duty, or serve in the Reserves, National Guard, or State Guard
  • Be Active Duty or
  • Currently discharged as:
    • Honorable
    • General Under Honorable Conditions
    • Other Than Honorable Conditions
    • Uncharacterized
    • Dishonorable
    • Bad Conduct
    • Dismissed
  • Be a resident of Galveston County
  • The Veteran must be suffering from a brain injury, mental illness or mental disorder, which can include Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, or was a victim of Military Sexual Trauma that:
    1. Occurred during or resulted from the Veterans military service, and
    2. Affected the defendants criminal conduct at issue in the case, or
    3. Considering the circumstances of the defendants conduct, personal and social background, and criminal history, is likely to achieve the objective of ensuring public safety through rehabilitation of the Veteran in a manner provided by Section 1.02(1), Penal Code.

Program Requirements

The VTC program is voluntary and normally (12) months in duration. There are two tracks offered in the VTC program:

Track 1 – Pretrial Diversion and Track 2 – Deferred Adjudication or regular Probation.

There is a standard $1000 VTC Program Fee, which takes the place of all fines and costs.

Compliance with probation conditions as well as treatment is mandatory. The District Attorney has final approval for eligibility as well as Track 1 and/or Track 2 offers. All cases will be reviewed for acceptance on a case-by-case basis.

Galveston County Veterans Treatment Court does not discriminate based on color, ethnicity, religion, sex, disability, or age, in the delivery of services.

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