Ronnie Yeates

Ronnie began his legal career interning with the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office investigating cold cases and homicides while attending Sam Houston State University for his Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice – Law Enforcement & Police Science in 1997. While attending South Texas College of Law in Houston, Ronnie interned with the Harris County District Attorney’s office in the 184th District Court and was responsible for the preparation and assisting in serious felony offenses and trials. Upon graduating law school Ronnie started working for the Walker County District Attorney’s Office as a Felony Prosecutor in the 278th District Court where he was responsible for Felony DWI’s, Violent and Aggravated Offenses, Felony drug charges, and more.

He began working for the Grimes County District Attorney’s Office in 2002. Ronnie represented the state in every Misdemeanor from ticket only offenses in JP Court to DWI, Assaults, theft, and other misdemeanor offenses. In his tenure with the DA’s Office, he personally oversaw more than 13 thousand Class B and Class A Misdemeanor charges, including reviewing search warrants, intaking cases, and trials. Prior to retiring in 2018, his responsibilities still included all misdemeanors, but he also represented the state in Bond Forfeitures, Asset Forfeitures, Occupational Driver’ s Licenses, and a bulk of the felony charges in the 12th and 506th District Courts including Felony DWI, drug charges, thefts, assaultive offenses, and certain sex offender offenses...he prosecuted everything from a ticket to 25 to life felonies.

Professionally, Ronnie has been an active member of the State Bar Justice of the Peace and Criminal Justice Sections and the Texas County and District Attorney’s Association for years and remains so. In the short time after retiring, he became a member of the Texas Sate Bar College (only about 8% of lawyers are members due to the stringent continuing education requirements), the Texas State Bar Committee on Legal Services to the Poor in Criminal Matters, the Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association (2021 Committee on Media Relations, 2019 DWI Trial Warrior Recipient, 2021 DWI Trial Scholar Recipient), a member of the Pro Bono College of the State Bar of Texas, the DUI Defense Lawyers Association, the Harris County Criminal Lawyer’s Association (2021 Board Member), the National DUI Defense Lawyers association, and was named a 2019 Top 100 Criminal Defense Lawyer by the National Trial Lawyers Association, a 2019 10 Best Attorney in Texas by the American Institute of Criminal Law Attorneys, and a 2019 Top 10 Best Attorney in Texas by the American Institute of DUI/DWI Attorneys.

Outside of his criminal practice, Ronnie is an automotive enthusiast building and customizing vehicles his entire life. He has also been an avid firearms enthusiast his whole life. Ronnie is a firearms manufacturer and dealer (07/02) licensed by the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives to manufacture machine guns, silencers, sawed off shotguns and more. In fact, Ronnie has been intricately involved in the planning and overseeing of several machine gun shoots over the years throughout the state of Texas. He also has organizing and teaching Law Enforcement, lay persons, other firearms dealers and manufacturers, and other lawyers about the changes in the firearms laws throughout the years. He is a published author and photographer regarding the automotive customizing industry and show circuits, Texas Firearms laws and The National Firearms Act. This experience gives him insight on the needs of clients for trusts and legal advice regarding the ownership, making, and transfer of firearms.