Randall County jury sentences man to life for 12th DWI conviction

AMARILLO, Texas (KFDA) - A Randall County jury has sentenced a man to life in prison for driving while intoxicated.

On July 14, a jury convicted Raymundo Ayala of driving while intoxicated (3rd of more.)

In Texas, a third of subsequent DWI is generally a third-degree felony punishable by two to 10 years in prison.

The case stems from a traffic stop in August 2025 when a DPS trooper recognized signs of intoxication and arrested him for DWI.

During the trial, the trooper told the jury he obtained a search warrant to collect a blood sample from Ayala. A forensic toxicologist later determined he had a blood alcohol concentration of .213, more than two and a half times the legal limit.

The jury also heard evidence of his two prior DWI convictions.

During the punishment phase, the jury learned Ayala had 11 prior DWI convictions and had previously been sentenced to prison on six of those offenses.

He was then found to be an habitual offender, increasing his punishment range of 25 years to life in prison.

Ayala testified he had accumulated so many DWI convictions because he was “unlucky.”

The jury ultimately returned a verdict of life in prison.

This was his first DWI conviction in Randall County.

Randall County District Attorney Robert Love says “Ayala was ‘lucky’ that his repeated decisions to drive while intoxicated did not result in the loss of innocent lives. Driving While Intoxicated continues to endanger our community, and this sentence sends a clear message: those who repeatedly choose to drink and drive will be held accountable.”