East Texas Man Gets 5 Years Over Brother’s Death

LUFKIN (AP) – An East Texas man has been sentenced to five years in prison for the beating death of his brother in a marital dispute. A judge in Lufkin on Wednesday accepted the plea agreement from Gary Wayne Hodges, 53, of Moffett as his murder trial was to begin. Hodges was charged in the April 2011 death of Kevin Hodges, 47. Gary Hodges pleaded guilty to aggravated assault with a deadly weapon causing serious bodily injury. Prosecutors say the case involved an alleged affair between the victim and the estranged wife of Gary Hodges. Investigators say Gary Hodges had vehicle trouble, returned home and found evidence of a drug lab and his wife being with his sibling. Authorities say Gary Hodges was enraged when he beat his younger brother with a tire-testing bat.