Falsely accused: Waco, Texas man charged and jailed for crime he didn’t commit

WACO, Texas (KWTX) - Nikolas Sedillio served 11 months in the McLennan County jail, charged for a crime he never committed.

In late January, charges were dismissed for felony assault family violence due to insufficient evidence. The dismissal came in light of additional evidence implicating another suspect.

It was a moment of joy Sedillio thought he would never get to experience. “I was smiling the whole time,” he said.

His lawyer surprised him with the news he was leaving his jail cell.

“She (Sedillio’s lawyer) was just like. So I went to the DA, and then I seen her Mama pull out her phone and start recording, she went to the DA and they dismissed it...,” Sedillio said as he reflected on the moment.

Sedillio switched attorneys six months in to his time in jail. He connected with Jessenia Ruiz, a former Baylor Law student, who graduated just a handful of years ago. She was handling her first criminal felony case pro bono.

“I think my client was really just very, very frustrated with this process and understandably so, especially, if he was, you know, if he didn’t do it. But he was ready to take a probation deal,” Ruiz said.

In January of last year, an assault was reported at the Riverside Apartments, also known as the Trenwood Apartments in Waco.

The call involved Jasmine Vansickle, the mother of Sedillio’s children.

Vansickle gave her report, along with other witness testimony gathered by police at the scene. At the time, police were unable to access video of the incident, so they moved forward with the investigation and believed they had the evidence to arrest Sedillio for felony assault strangulation.

Sedillio was surprised at the time of his arrest in February of 2024.

“I ended up getting a text message from the mother of my child. She said the cops were outside. ‘I pressed some charges on you.’ They asked if I could go outside to talk to them, and went I went outside they said, ‘put your hands behind your back you have a warrant out for your arrest,’” Sedillio recalled.

Ruiz later was able to subpoena and receive the video of the altercation from the apartment complex that later resulted in the case being thrown out for lack of evidence. Sedillio was not seen in the video.

According to Ruiz, Vansickle tried to correct her statement, saying that it was - in fact - not Sedillio who assaulted her.

Sedillio said he is still not entirely sure why she would accuse him of abusing her.

Vansickle was arrested by police on March 6 for making a false report to a peace officer, according to the arrest affidavit. Police believe she knowingly made a false statement with the intent to deceive by naming Sedillio as a suspect in the assault.

According to the affidavit, she had also provided a written statement to officers and later interviewed with a detective with Waco PD relaying the same information regarding Sedillio committing the assault.

According to court documents, Vansickle bonded out of jail the day after she was arrested.

In a statement sent to KWTX, the Waco Police Department said police officers documented bruising on the victim, which was consistent with her report as well as witness testimony.

“The Family Violence Unit Detective on the case reached out to the complex to ask if there was any video evidence. The complex did not provide the video, and the case continued with the victim’s statement, 911 recording, and crime scene photographs. When the video in question was finally presented to our Family Violence Unit Detective on January 24, 2025, it showed a different male chasing the female on the day and time the incident occurred. Charges were immediately dropped against Nikolas Sedillo, and he was released from the McLennan County Jail. The case is reopened for investigation,” the police department said in a statement.

The statement further said: “Knowingly providing false information to any peace officer is a criminal act that may result in legal consequences. False reports can mislead investigations, harm innocent individuals, and delay justice for those who truly need assistance. We urge all members of the community to act responsibly when reporting incidents. If you believe a crime has occurred, please provide truthful and accurate information to help us protect and serve the City and its residents.”

McLennan County District Attorney Josh Tetens declined to comment on the situation due to the active nature of the case and a current investigation related to the incident.

Ruis said she is happy for her client’s truth to be uncovered, but she realized he lost a lot of valuable time being locked up.

“I think that he very much did not deserve to spend a year behind bars,” Ruiz said. “I think he had a girlfriend an now he doesn’t have the same girlfriend... there’s a lot of different areas of his life impacted.”

Sedillio was frustrated about the situation, but he said being locked up gave him a perspective on life after a troubled past. He had previous charges of possession of marijuana, evading arrest, unlawful carrying of a weapon and failure to provided proper identification.

“Really, it just made me sit down for a while and just think about better ways I could do things when I get out... just motivated me to go hard for me and my kids,” Sedillio said.

Sedillio said one thing that made freedom taste better... the sweet and spicy bacon burger from Whataburger.

He now hopes to get his GED and look at the possibility of going to school for welding.

As of now it is unkown if another person has been arrested for the assault cirme.

We reached out to Vansickle for comment, but did not hear back.

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