Excessive Much? Texas Man Sentenced to 70 Years For Spitting At Police

A Black man from Texas is learning a hard lesson after being arrested and convicted.

Fox News reports Larry Pearson has been sentenced to 70 years in prison. His crime? Spitting at Lubbock police officers. In May 2022, Pearson, 36, was arrested for domestic violence after the victim flagged down law enforcement officials in the 200 block of Zenith Avenue. Pearson allegedly hit the woman several times in the face, with physically visible injuries to officers. She also told authorities that he had a gun, which turned out to be an airsoft or BB gun.

Once he was in police custody and handcuffed, he became upset that the victim wasn’t being arrested and started kicking the patrol car’s door. Officers stopped the vehicle to tell the assailant to stop, and things escalated. When officers opened the door, Pearson spat at them and carried on even after he arrived at the Lubbock County Detention Center. According to the New York Post, jurors found him guilty of two counts of harassment of a public servant. Due to prior convictions of aggravated robbery and family violence, he was facing a minimum of 25 years. However, prosecutor Jessica Gorman asked the jury to “send a message” to the suspect and society with its sentencing.

“If you’re going to live the life of crime, you’re going to do that among other criminals in prison,” Gorman told the court. However, his attorney, Jim Shaw, sold a different story of a “simple misdemeanor” that got out of control.

It didn’t matter because his fate was already determined—the jurors handed down 25 years and then some.

Gorman said a 70-year sentence would never be handed down to someone for something like this if they’ve never been in trouble with the law.