The case advanced after an appeals court set aside a protective order, with detectives later tracing accounts and movements to secure a conviction.
FRISCO, Texas — A North Texas stalking case that stretched across four years ended this month with a 20-year prison sentence for Robert Carroll Bevers, following a Collin County jury’s guilty verdict and a judge’s decision to impose the maximum term. The victim, Peyton Mabry, said the conduct began with gifts at her family’s door and escalated into explicit threats after a civil order was overturned.
Prosecutors emphasized the investigation’s digital backbone and the legal turns that kept the case alive. The Fifth Court of Appeals reversed a lifetime protective order in February, a ruling that reset the civil posture but did not slow the criminal probe. Frisco police, working with the district attorney’s office, built a timeline from home surveillance clips, social media records and phone data. Authorities said the package drops and drive-bys of 2021 and 2022 gave way to hundreds of messages in 2024, which jurors heard as part of a pattern. The court then weighed prior history to raise the punishment range to 20 years, which the judge adopted.
The chronology began June 1, 2021, when a gift appeared on the Mabry porch. More items followed, including a bouquet left overnight on Valentine’s Day. Cameras captured a car circling the block, sometimes repeatedly, according to evidence summaries. Mabry’s family pursued a protective order after the defendant knocked on their door; when that order was set aside on appeal, the contact returned in greater volume. “Hand delivered a gift in the middle of the night and totally changed my world forever,” Mabry said of the first delivery, describing a shift to vigilance that touched every errand and routine.
Detectives said they obtained warrants to preserve messages from accounts they tied to Bevers and to identify additional accounts that mirrored the same language. Investigators also pulled location data that placed a phone associated with the defendant near the neighborhood at odd hours. Evidence presented in court included communications that witnesses described as vulgar, racist and sexually explicit. Other women testified they had never met Bevers but experienced similar contact, which prosecutors used to argue a serial pattern. The jury returned a guilty verdict and the judge added a $10,000 fine to the sentence. “This maximum sentence is due in no small part to the victim’s bravery and tenacity,” District Attorney Greg Willis said in a statement after the ruling.
Context around the case fueled public interest. Texas statutes classify stalking as a third-degree felony on a first conviction, with a punishment range of two to 10 years, but prior convictions and enhancements can raise the ceiling to 20. Prosecutors said that applied in this prosecution. The sentence drew notice as an example of courts applying the top of the range for stalking, which legal analysts say is still uncommon. Records and news accounts also noted a family history: Bevers’s father is serving a life sentence in a separate stalking and sexual assault case. The judge instructed jurors to focus on the charged conduct. Advocates said the prosecution underscored how online tools and surveillance footage can blend to show a pattern that meets the statutory definition of stalking.
On procedure, the defense can appeal the conviction to the Fifth Court of Appeals in Dallas, the same court that addressed the protective order earlier this year. If an appeal is filed, the court reporter will prepare transcripts and exhibits for a three-justice panel. The parole board will later determine when, and under what conditions, to consider Bevers for supervised release. Under Texas rules, eligibility can arrive well before the full sentence is served, though the board weighs victim statements and offense details. Prosecutors said they will notify the victim of any parole setting and will continue coordinating with Frisco police on any post-conviction developments.
The scene beyond the filings tells how the case reverberated. Neighbors recalled patrol cars slowing down by the house and a sense that a quiet block had eyes on it at night. A witness who testified said she asked jurors to consider the maximum so the women involved could “finally breathe.” Mabry, now 28, said she is rebuilding and hopes her testimony helps others understand what stalking looks like as it evolves from small gestures to relentless contact. “They did their part,” she said of the jury and police. “It’s changed how I walk through the world.”
The case stands at sentencing, with any notice of appeal expected next and parole milestones several years away. Court officials said the docket will reflect filings as they arrive and that the parties will be notified when the appellate record is complete.
Author note: Last updated November 23, 2025.