A Texas man, 36, was sentenced to 70 years in prison on Wednesday after being found guilty on two counts of harassment of a public servant for spitting at police officers. According to Lubbock County jail records , Larry Pearson was arrested in May 2022 on multiple charges, including harassment of a public servant, assault, assault domestic violence, and violation of a protective order.
According to EverythingLubbock.com, in May of last year, a victim flagged down Lubbock police officers and claimed Pearson had hit her several times and had a gun. The weapon was discovered to be an airsoft gun.
A police report obtained by EverythingLubbock.com stated that the victim has multiple visible injuries to her face, which prompted police to detain Pearson.
While he was detained in the officer’s vehicle, Pearson started kicking at the doors, according to KETK.
Two officers reportedly opened the vehicle door to tell Larry Pearson to stop and that’s when he spit at them, KETK reported.
According to multiple reports, Larry Pearson continued to spit after arriving at Lubbock County Detention Center.
During closing arguments at Pearson’s trial, Gorman asked the jury to consider sentencing Pearson to a number of years that would “send a message” to Pearson and society, EverythingLubbock.comreported. Pearson’s defense attorney Jim Shaw implored the jury to consider that the sentencing was for a “simple misdemeanor” in a circumstance that got “out of control.”
The minimum sentence Pearson could have received was 25 years due to his prior convictions of aggravated robbery and continuous family violence.
“You’re not going to get 70 years for something like this when you’ve never been in trouble before,” Prosecutor Jessica Gorman said. “If you’re going to live the life of crime, you’re going to do that among other criminals [in prison].”
Lubbock is one of the most dangerous metropolitan areas and was once rated the third most dangerous city in America by SafeWise.
The city ranks high in violent crime and property crimes.
The SafeWise study estimated that 1 in 25 people were a victim of property crime in 2020.