Jury trial to begin for murder of Texas Tech police officer, Hollis Daniels pleads guilty

LUBBOCK, Texas (KCBD) - The capital murder trial will begin February 6, 2023, for the man accused of shooting and killing a Texas Tech University police officer in 2017.

Hollis Daniels III, 24, faces the death penalty or life in prison without parole. As of Monday morning, Daniels has submitted a guilty plea to the court.

The jury trial is still determining his punishment; prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.

The former Texas Tech student is accused of killing officer Floyd East Junior inside the university’s police department.

FULL COVERAGE: Shooting at Texas Tech Police Department

The shooting happened at 7:44 p.m., but police interaction with Daniels began much earlier that day.

Lubbock police officers said they received a call about a stolen firearm at 1:11 a.m. on Oct. 9, 2017. The caller said Daniels had stolen the gun from a home near Indiana and 28th Street.

Just minutes later, officers said they spotted Daniels about three miles away from that home and pulled him over. Officers said they searched Daniels and did not find a firearm. Daniels refused to let them search his car, so eventually, they released him.

Former Lubbock Police Chief Greg Stevens addressed this at a news conference in 2017, shortly after Daniels’ arrest.

“There was not enough probable cause to search it on its own nor get a warrant for the vehicle,” Stevens said.

Later that day, the Texas Tech Police Department received a call from someone who said they heard a gunshot from Daniels’ dorm room.

Officer East was one of the officers who responded.

Those officers reported finding drugs and drug paraphernalia in Daniels’ room, so they took him into custody.

East was in the process of booking Daniels when he was shot in the back of the head. East’s colleagues reported hearing the shot at 7:44 p.m. Daniels was nowhere to be found.

Texas Tech’s dispatch contacted the Lubbock Police Department at 7:46 p.m. LPD said their first officer arrived on the scene at 7:49 p.m.

The university went on lockdown, and this quickly became a multi-agency manhunt.

At 9:26 p.m., a Texas Tech Officer found Daniels by the old municipal coliseum.

Daniels was taken into custody and has been at the Lubbock County Detention Center since then.

In 2018, we sat down with Texas Tech Police Chief Kyle Bonath and asked him how Daniels got a gun into the police department.

“Our officers conducted themselves in a professional manner. Everything that should have been done was done. This was a very unique situation. I think once trial comes it will be made more clear. There is one person who can tell you how that occurred with absolute certainty and that’s the suspect himself,” Bonath said.

No cameras or recording devices are allowed in the courtroom during this trial.

KCBD will have a crew in the courtroom and will provide updates throughout each day.

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