A 36-year-old man was sentenced to four years in prison after admitting in court to escaping from custody of the Lubbock County Detention Center, then stealing an all-terrain vehicle while he was on the run.
Benjamin Soliz appeared Tuesday by internet video conference to enter a plea of guilty to felony counts of escape while in custody – a third-degree felony – and a state jail felony count of unauthorized use of a vehicle.
He also pleaded guilty to a count of stalking, also a third-degree felony.
Third-degree felonies carry a punishment of two to 10 years in prison while state jail felonies carry a punishment of six months to two years in a state jail.
As part of a deal with the Lubbock County Detention Center, Soliz received two, four-year prison sentences on the third-degree felonies and 12 months in prison for the state jail felony.
His sentences will run concurrently.
Escape from custody
Soliz was initially arrested and booked into the Lubbock County Detnetion Center on Feb. 2 on a stalking charge that stemmed from a a Dec. 30 Lubbock police investigation into a report from Soliz’s ex-girlfriend who said he sent her threatening voice memos and text messages and repeatedly drove past her residence to harass, annoy, torment or alarm her.