ROCKWALL, Texas — Editor's note: The video published above is a WFAA report about Broussard's assault charge in Deep Ellum in 2018. WFAA reporter Rebecca Lopez contributed to this report.
A North Texas man has been sentenced to 40 years in prison after being found guilty of aggravated assault causing serious bodily injury with a deadly weapon/family violence.
The Rockwall Police Department (RPD) arrested 41-year-old Jarod Broussard on Aug. 21, 2022, after his girlfriend escaped in the middle of the night from the home she shared with him. Officials said the victim ran from one house to another looking for help until a neighbor let her in and called 911. She was able to tell police that Broussard had repeatedly strangled, suffocated and beaten her unconscious in retaliation for her decision to end their relationship.
Officials said video footage from a surveillance camera in the home "not only corroborated the victim’s account of how the assault had occurred but highlighted the shocking brutality of the attack she had survived."
According to police, the video showed Broussard holding both hands around her neck while saying through gritted teeth, “I’m gonna kill you with my own two hands.”
“As a career prosecutor, I’ve seen the aftermath of violence more times than I can count, but seeing it firsthand on video is rare,” said lead prosecutor Kerri New. “This victim showed incredible bravery both in saving herself from life-threatening violence and in standing up for herself and all the victims who came before her. Because of her courage, Broussard’s days of brutalizing women are over.”
Broussard was on probation from an assault conviction out of Dallas County when the incident occurred. He was sentenced in 2019 to two years in prison and five years on probation in relation to a prior assault incident caught on video by bystanders in Deep Ellum in 2018.
Including the Deep Ellum incident, police said Broussard had previously assaulted at least four women. When WFAA reported on the Deep Ellum attack, we found an arrest affidavit from 2010 when Broussard was arrested for attacking a different girlfriend in Richardson.
The video from the Deep Ellum assault showed Broussard punching his victim in the head so hard that her head bounced off a wall, lacerating her scalp and knocking out one of her teeth, police said. Similarly, the affidavit WFAA obtained from the 2010 Richardson attack said he "banged the victim's head against the floor, several times had his hand pressed against victim's throat holding her head against the floor and choked her." The Richardson case was dropped after the victim wouldn't cooperate and was too afraid to go to court, WFAA reported.
In the Deep Ellum assault, the victim took to social media and stated the incident was a private matter and she didn't want police involved. An affidavit also stated the victim told police directly she didn't want to file charges against her boyfriend. But Dallas police arrested Broussard within hours of the attack. The video is enough to charge him.
“This case highlights the seriousness of family violence cases and why our office is so vigilant in prosecuting even the less serious crimes,” said Rockwall County District Attorney Kenda Culpepper. “Unless a perpetrator faces consequences early in the cycle of abuse, the violence often escalates. That brutality not only affects innocent victims but also their children, families and our community, and it must be stopped.”
Broussard was sentenced this week to 40 years for the Rockwall assault charge, the Rockwall County Criminal District Attorney’s Office said.
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