A habitual offender received a life sentence Tuesday for evading arrest from a Bowie County jury.
Benjamin Williams, 53, was found guilty of fleeing from police in a car May 20, 2016. Texarkana, Texas, police were responding to a disturbance in the 100 block of Robinson Place when Williams’ car neared the scene, turned around and headed east in the 2500 block of West 15th Street, according to a probable cause affidavit.
Officers attempted to stop Williams at the scene of the disturbance but he led them on a chase. Williams was followed by several police cars as he turned and drove south on Milam Street and then on to Martin Luther King Blvd. After merging onto 7th Street, Williams pulled onto a street nearby and came to a stop.
A five-and-a-half inch knife was found in one of Williams’ back pockets. A rock of crack cocaine weighing less than a gram was found in the driver’s seat.
A notice to enhance the punishment range Williams faced from two to 10 years in prison to 25 to 99 years or life was filed before the case went to trial. The notice states that Williams has convictions for attempted rape and attempted forcible oral copulation in California. A California conviction for carrying a dirk or dagger is listed in the notice also.
Williams has a pending driving while intoxicated and a pending drug possession case in Bowie County. Williams is currently serving a four-year term of probation for drug possession in Miller County. A motion to revoke his probation is pending.
First Assistant District Attorney Michael Shepherd and Assistant District Attorney Katie Carter prosecuted the case before 202nd District Judge John Tidwell. Williams is being held in the Bowie County jail until he can be transported to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.
