David Cadena Sentenced To 25 Years For Brutal Assault On Jonna King In Dallas Parking Garage
DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) - David Cadena, 27, the Laredo man who brutally assaulted Jonna King in a downtown Dallas parking garage on Sept. 21 was sentenced to 25 years in federal prison.
David Cadena, 27, was charged via criminal complaint in November 2019 and indicted less than a month later. Before he was federally charged, Cadena was charged by the state with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and aggravated robbery, but had twice bonded out of Dallas County Jail. A federal judge ordered him detained immediately after he was arrested by the feds. He pleaded guilty in April 2021 to the federal charge, carjacking resulting in bodily injury, and was sentenced Thursday by U.S. District Judge Jane J. Boyle.
According to plea papers, Cadena admitted pulling King, a wife and mother, out of her car in the parking garage of the Statler Hotel and beating her with a fire extinguisher so viciously that she lay in a coma for days after.
After assaulting King, Cadena allegedly carjacked her 2015 Toyota Corolla, drove it around the garage, and slammed it into a wall. A Statler security guard observed Cadena behind the wheel of the wrecked vehicle and removed him from the car for his own safety.
Authorities discovered King unconscious, with severe bruising and swelling to her face and head. She was transported to Baylor Hospital, where she lay in a coma for two days, and medical professionals documented nerve damage to her arms and legs as a result of the beating.
In court documents, Cadena asserted that because he was heavily intoxicated at the time of the crime, he has no recollection of the events that occurred that night. However, after reviewing the evidence, including security video and witness accounts, he agreed that he committed the offense as described.
