Threat against ex-wife sparked Texas man’s standoff at National Guard armory, feds say Judge's gavel. (Staff Sgt. Nicholas Rau/U.S. Air Force)
A Texas man has pleaded guilty after prosecutors say he threatened to kill his ex-wife and fled police.
Gene Garcia Solis, 48, was charged with interstate threatening communications, and pleaded guilty on Monday, April 18, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas.
Solis’ lawyer declined McClatchy News’ request for comment on her client’s recent plea.
An officer with the Lubbock Police Department was texting Solis on Nov. 24 — the day prior to Thanksgiving — when he admitted he wasn’t doing well, officials said. The officer then called Solis, who told him that he was going to kill himself, along with his former wife and anyone who “tried to stop him,” court documents said.
It is unclear why Solis and the officer were communicating prior to his threat.
Afraid for his ex-wife’s safety, officials set up surveillance at her home. Solis drove by the home at about 10:30 p.m. that evening, and officers attempted to perform a traffic stop. Instead, Solis led officers on a chase that became “too dangerous to the public,” so police called off the chase, court documents said.
Around 1:15 a.m. on Thanksgiving Day, law enforcement spotted Solis in Hale Center, Texas, and he fled the area once again, until he hit a spike strip and crashed in the parking lot of a Texas National Guard Armory, officials said in court documents.
According to the release, Solis then fired “several rounds” from a rifle and ran into the Armory building. After a 30-hour standoff, he surrendered to police.
Solis faces up to five years in prison.
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