Burnet County man gets 10 years for 2009 shooting of woman
DANIEL CLIFTON • PICAYUNE STAFF
BURNET — A 22-year-old man pleaded guilty April 29 for shooting a woman in 2009. Two months ago, a Burnet County Jury convicted his mother for her role in the crime.
Vinson Thomas-Ward Cowan accepted 10 years in prison for shooting a woman in the head with a small-caliber firearm Dec. 18, 2009, in the Deer Springs community. The then-35-year-old victim lived when the bullet failed to penetrate her skull.
Cowan faced up to 20 years in prison for the second-degree felony of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. On Feb. 27, a Burnet County Jury sentenced Cowan’s 42-year-old mother, Linda Sue Cowan, to 15 years in prison after finding her guilty of getting her son to shoot the victim.
On Dec. 18, 2009, law enforcement and emergency crews responded about 2 a.m. to a report of a possible gunshot victim at a residence in the Deer Springs community, located west of Burnet off Texas 29. According to court documents, Burnet Fire and EMS crews found a woman at a residence in the 100 block of Mesquite Drive with a small puncture wound above her right eye.
According to a Burnet Fire and EMS patient-care form entered into the court record, the victim told emergency service personnel her pets awoke her and she saw a man through her bedroom pointing a gun at her and then heard a gunshot. The woman felt fluid running down her face that she realized was blood, the document stated.
Burnet EMS transported the victim to Seton Williamson County in Round Rock, where she was treated for a gunshot wound to the head, court documents stated.
The initial investigation after the incident eventually led Burnet County deputies to Vinson Thomas-Ward Cowan. Authorities arrested the man Dec. 19, 2009, and charged him with four counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon due to three children also being in the residence at the time of the incident.
During the ensuing investigation, authorities linked Linda Sue Cowan to the shooting, alleging she asked or influenced her son to shoot the victim. She and her son were each eventually indicted on one count of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
After his plea, Vinson Thomas-Ward Cowan was booked into the Burnet County Jail, where he will be held until he is transferred to a state detention facility. According to state records, Linda Sue Cowan is currently being held in the Linda Woodman State Jail in Gatesville.
As part of the April 29 agreement entered in the court record, the Burnet County District Attorney’s office agreed to drop a burglary indictment and other possible charges against Vinson Thomas-Ward Cowan. The man also agreed that, if necessary, he would testify against his mother, according to court documents.
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