Patrick Johnston, Times Record NewsPublished 5:39 p.m. CT Aug. 20, 2017
An Allred prison inmate will be allowed to represent himself on accusations that he cut a correctional officer with a razor blade.
Daniel Glenn Ostrander, 50, asked to assert his right to self-representation Friday and the motion was granted by 30th District Judge Robert Brotherton. James Rasmussen, lead public defender, will remain on the case as stand-by counsel.
He told the judge there weren't many legal things he couldn't handle after the lengthy time he has spent in the Texas prison system.
Ostrander, who is currently serving 50 years behind bars for failing to register as a sex offender, is charged with aggravated assault on a public servant and possession of a deadly weapon in a penal institution.
He has previously represented himself on a federal civil lawsuit and won.
According to the Prison Legal News, Ostrander was awarded $5,000 by a jury in a federal court after he was beaten by a prison guard. He reportedly represented himself in the case.
On July 29, 1986, court documents show Ostrander pleaded guilty to sexual assault of a child in Tarrant County. He was sentenced to 25 years in prison, per a plea agreement.
The court documents state Ostrander was 18 at the time of the offense and the victim was 15 years old.
While in prison in Potter County, Ostrander was convicted of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon on June 20, 2005, and convicted to four years in prison, to run concurrently with the sentence he was already serving.
Ostrander was released on parole on July 23, 2010. As part of his parole conditions, he was required to register with the Fort Worth Police Department and was required to wear an ankle monitor.
On Aug. 14, 2010, Ostrander cut off his ankle monitor and left the halfway house he was required to live in after being released. He remained on the run for two months.
He reportedly finally turned himself in to Fort Worth police because he was tired of being homeless.
According to his appeal of the sentence, Ostrander pleaded not guilty on October 25, 2011, to the charges of failing to comply with sex offender registration requirements and the first jury was unable to reach a unanimous verdict.
A second trial began April 9, 2012, and Ostrander pleaded not guilty to the indictment.
He was sentenced by the second jury to the 50-year term for the offense after 49 minutes of deliberation, according to a press release by the Tarrant County District Attorney's Office at the time. He was reportedly disruptive in prison awaiting his trial, including throwing feces at jail staff, and continued the behavior in the courtroom.
On Nov. 17, 2014, Ostrander reportedly assaulted an Allred correctional officer by cutting him with a razor blade attached to a handle while serving his 50-year prison term, according to the indictment of his current charges on which he will represent himself.