The husband and wife accused of a triple shooting in Joaquin almost two years ago, were arraigned last Friday morning in Shelby County. Bobbie and Deedra Grubbs appeared before 273^rd District Judge Charles Mitchell, with both entering pleas of not guilty to the charges of Capital Murder and two-counts of Aggravated Assault.

The Grubbs are charged with the April 27, 2012 death of Martha Acevedo-Chan, and the shooting assault of Quinton Watts and Marilyn Retamar at the Joaquin Country Inn.

With the victim’s family members present, Shelby County District Attorney Kenneth Florence presented the indictments to the court. He was joined by newly deputized assistant DAs Ralph Guerrero and Wesley Mau, who were provided by Attorney General Greg Abbott to assist in trying the cases scheduled for May 12 & 27.

In a press release, Florence expressed his appreciation to AG Abbott, and said both men come at the expense of the state of Texas.

The Grubbs both received court-appointed local attorneys, as John R. Smith will represent Bobbie Grubbs, and Deck Jones on Deedra Grubbs’ behalf. Both were also offered plea deals by the state, and have seven days to respond. The agreement is for life imprisonment with the possibility of parole in 30 years.

District Attorney Florence added in the press release, that it’s simply not possible to singly handle a case of this magnitude while handling the general affairs and caseload of the office on a daily basis. He said the budget cuts the DA’s office has been through in the past two years of having its budget cut 37 and-a-half percent, and doing away with the assistant DA position in October were too much.

The Grubbs face additional charges in Harris County after beating and robbing a woman before fleeing to Shelby County. They were apprehended in Cleveland after stealing a car to flee the crime scene at the Joaquin motel.