East Texas jury sentences man who threatened to kill woman he assaulted to 99 years
UPSHUR COUNTY, Texas (KLTV) - On May 17, an Upshur County jury sentenced a 45-year-old man who threatened to kill the woman he assaulted and strangled in Morris County to 99 years in a Texas Department of Criminal Justice prison.
Charles Lance Taylor went on trial in Judge Dean Fowler’s 115th Judicial District Court on a felony retaliation charge, and according to a press release on the Upshur County Criminal District Attorney’s Facebook page, the jury of five men and seven women found him guilty of the charge.
“An extremely dangerous man was convicted and removed from our streets this week,” Upshur County Criminal District Attorney Billy Byrd said in the press release. “The victim demonstrated great courage by finally coming forward. The Upshur County Sheriff’s Office investigated this case, and I also extend appreciation to our officers and also the Lone Star Police Department for their work testifying during trial.”
Byrd said the jury agreed with the state’s suggestion that the sentence should be enhanced. As a result, the minimum sentence was raised to 25 to 99 years in prison.
On June 23, 2020, Taylor broke into the Lone Star home of a woman he once dated and started assaulting and strangling her, the press release stated.
“The assault was so bad it required the victim to be hospitalized for a brain bleed,” the press release stated.
According to the press release, Taylor was indicted on the assault charge on Sept. 17, 2020. Taylor’s assault charge was pending when he called the victim in Upshur County on Jan. 21, 2021, and threatened to kill her for filing charges against him in Morris County.
Taylor was placed on four years of probation for the assault on Nov. 1, 2021, the press release stated.
Along with the victim’s testimony, the state provided a series of text messages and recorded phone calls where Taylor made threats against the woman, the press release stated.
Taylor had seven prior felony convictions and four misdemeanor convictions dating back to the late 1990s.
Taylor attacked another woman in 2015 and threatened to slice her throat and run her over with her own car, the press release stated. Byrd added that Taylor assaulted the Upshur County victim many times that went unreported.
“I want to extend appreciation to the jury,” Byrd said in the press release. “They had to listen to and see extremely vile and reprehensible statements from the defendant. In addition, they saw clearly how dangerous the defendant was.”
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