LA MARQUE — A League City man convicted by a jury of intoxicated manslaughter will avoid immediate prison time after a Galveston County judge suspended his sentence and placed him on long-term community supervision.

According to court records and reporting by the Galveston County Daily News, Rayfield David Conley, 23, was found guilty Monday in the 56th District Court of intoxicated manslaughter with a vehicle in connection with a December 2021 crash that killed 21-year-old Michael Burge of Dickinson.

Jurors assessed Conley’s punishment at 10 years in a Texas prison. However, Judge Lonnie Cox ordered the sentence probated, placing Conley on 10 years of community supervision instead of incarceration.

The conviction stems from a head-on crash that occurred around 1:45 a.m. on Dec. 21, 2021, in the 4000 block of state Highway 3. Investigators said Conley was driving a black Toyota Corolla the wrong way in oncoming traffic when it collided with a black Nissan Xterra driven by Burge.

An affidavit from La Marque Police Sgt. Troy Anders stated Burge was found unconscious and unresponsive at the scene and was airlifted to the University of Texas Medical Branch hospital in Galveston, where he was pronounced dead several hours later.

Conley was also hospitalized with broken legs and facial injuries. Police reported that Conley admitted to being intoxicated, and subsequent testing showed his blood alcohol concentration was 0.112, above the legal limit. Investigators further determined, using data from the vehicle’s event data recorder, that Conley was traveling 77 miles per hour in a 45-mile-per-hour zone at the time of impact.

As a condition of probation, Conley must serve 180 days in the Galveston County Jail, with credit for four days already served. His driver’s license has been suspended for one year, and he is prohibited from consuming alcohol or becoming intoxicated during the supervision period.

The jury also determined that Conley used a deadly weapon — a motor vehicle — during the commission of the offense. Intoxicated manslaughter is classified as a second-degree felony under Texas law.

Court records show Conley was ordered to pay a $10,000 fine, court costs, and fees, as well as make payments to Crime Stoppers. Additional probation requirements include 240 hours of community service, completion of substance abuse evaluation and treatment, attendance at a DWI intervention program and a Mothers Against Drunk Driving victim impact panel, and ongoing drug and alcohol testing.

Conley must also participate in Galveston County’s specialized DWI supervision program and comply with court-ordered alcohol monitoring and ignition-interlock-type device requirements.