Judge Robert Updegrove has handed down a sentence for Austin Rice, the man who provided Texas State University student Matthew Ellis with a bottle of alcohol the night before Ellis was found dead.
Hays County District Attorney Wes Mau said that Updegrove assessed a sentence of two years of probation. The judge made the decision about two hours after testimony ended in Rice’s sentencing. Rice pleaded guilty to providing alcohol to a minor – a Class A misdemeanor – after Ellis’ death following an off-campus fraternity event in November 2017. Assistant District Attorney Jeffrey Weatherford asked Updegrove to sentence Rice to one year in jail, the maximum sentence for the crime, given the tragedy that followed. Rice’s attorney, Richard Ursha, asked Updegrove for deferred adjudication, noting that Rice has expressed remorse, did not intend for Ellis to die, and is going to school, working and performing community service.
Updegrove also assessed a $500 fine plus court costs, and community service. He also ordered Rice to cooperate in an investigation to determine who sold him the alcohol he gave to Ellis.
