SAN MARCOS — A 21-year-old Austin woman pleaded guilty to attempted murder, a first-degree felony, and assault of a public servant, a third-degree felony, on Sept. 12 before Judge Gary Steel and was sentenced to 25 years in state prison and 10 years probation, respectively.

Estefany Zetina Gaytan has been held at the Hays County Jail for nearly four years on charges of capital murder, attempted murder, aggravated assault causing serious bodily injury, engaging in organized criminal activity and assault of a public servant in connection with three separate incidents.

Gaytan was charged with attempted capital murder and aggravated assault causing serious bodily injury during a robbery on in September 2019.

According to an affidavit of probable cause and complaint for an arrest warrant by San Marcos Police Department Det. Kassondra Raven, officers were dispatched at approximately 7:54 p.m. on Sept. 24, 2019, to 653 Mill Street in San Marcos for a report of a discharged firearm. The caller stated that he heard three gunshots and then heard a female screaming. Officers arrived on the scene and located the victim, 18, with apparent gunshot wounds to her left upper arm, right forearm, right knee and left upper thigh. She was transported to Ascension Seton Hays Hospital in Kyle.

The victim told the detective that she communicated through Snapchat to meet with a male subject known to her as “PF Tae” in order to sell him marijuana. When she arrived, she noticed he was in the company of a Hispanic female. The two then ambushed the victim and Gaytan shot her once. “PF Tae” was later identified as 24-year-old Davonte Miller — Gaytan’s codefendant in another incident. Miller was also charged with attempted capital murder and aggravated assault causing serious bodily injury in relation to the September 2019 incident.

A charge of capital murder was filed against Gaytan on Feb. 12, 2020, after Miller allegedly shot Benjamin Verse at the AutoZone in Kyle. Verse was shot a total of three times — twice in the neck and once in the temple. While prosecutors believe she was not the one who pulled the trigger, Verse’s death occurred in the commission of a felony, making Gaytan culpable for his slaying under the Texas Law of Parties. While Miller still faces charges in relation to the incident, the capital murder charge against Gaytan was ultimately dropped per the plea agreement.

Gaytan was also convicted of assault of a public servant in relation to an August 2021 incident. According to an arrest warrant affidavit by Chase Fuller of the Hays County Sheriff’s Office, a deputy was dispatched to the Hays County Jail on Aug. 28, 2021, for an assault within the jail. There, he met with the victim, a corrections officer. She stated that she was in the process of moving all the inmates out of a housing unit so it could be sterilized. Gaytan was one of the last two to be removed from the unit. The victim stated that while removing the suspect and another inmate from the unit, she became distracted. During this time, Gaytan began walking toward the open hallways leading to the rest of the jail.

“In order to prevent the suspect from leaving her assigned area, the victim stated that she grabbed ahold of [Gaytan] and placed her against the wall. While against the wall, the suspect turned around (facing the victim), pushed her off the wall and placed her hand around the victim’s neck,” the affidavit stated. “The [corrections officer] reported not being able to breathe while the suspect’s hand was squeezing her neck and she did experience physical pain in her neck.”

Surveillance footage from the jail confirmed the corrections officer’s telling of this account and Gaytan was charged with assault of a public servant.

For the charge of assault of a public servant, Gaytan will serve 10 years of probation following her 25-year state prison sentence for attempted murder.