(Lubbock) — A 24-year-old former Seguin man has been sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Hollis “Reid” Daniels heard his fate in a Lubbock courtroom on Friday evening.
The jury deliberated for three days before deciding to send Daniels to prison for the rest of his life. Daniels pleaded guilty to the capital murder of Texas Tech University Police Officer Floyd East Jr., which immediately sent the trial into the sentencing phase.
The jury heard testimony for nearly three weeks, before starting its deliberations earlier this week. The jurors had two choices to make — either sentence Daniels to death, or to give him life in prison. The jury had to first answer two questions — was Daniels likely to be a danger in the future, and were there circumstances that might make life in prison the better option in this case? The jurors in the end opted for the latter, and Daniels will now spend the rest of his behind bars. Daniels shot and killed Officer East on October 9, 2017 at the university’s police station. He was 19-years old at the time of the killing and was a student at Texas Tech.