Man arrested in 2019 robbery, kidnapping case gets 8-year sentence
A 32-year-old man was sentenced on Tuesday to eight years in prison for his role in a 2019 robbery and abduction of his girlfriend's ex-boyfriend, who they left hogtied in a cotton field in Shallowater.
Marques Anthony Reeder pleaded guilty to a first-degree felony count of aggravated robbery, which carried a punishment of five years to life in prison.
Reeder entered his plea by video conference from the Lubbock County Detention Center where he has been held since October 2019.
As part of his plea, prosecutors moved to dismiss a second count of aggravated kidnapping, also a first-degree felony.
Reeder is the one of two people charged in connection with the Oct. 28, 2019, robbery and kidnapping of Altha Williams.
Jessica Pena, 36, who is also facing a count of aggravated robbery, awaits trial.
Their charges stem from a Lubbock police investigation that began when a Lubbock police detective met with Williams at Covenant Health where he identified Pena and Reeder as the people who abducted and robbed him. Williams told the detective he and Pena broke up two months before after dating for about two and a half months. He said Pena and Redding, her current boyfriend at the time, stayed with him for about a week before he kicked them out.
Williams said Pena texted him, saying she planned on leaving town and asked if she could meet at his house in the 4100 block of 32nd Street. He said he believed she would be alone. He said Pena showed up and asked to see his puppies in the backyard.
While in the backyard, Williams told the detective he was hit from behind. He turned around and saw Reeder holding a long gun. He said the two fought in the kitchen but Reeder caught him in a choke hold, laid him on the floor and hogtied him with zip ties.
Williams said his head was covered with a pillowcase and he was dragged into his SUV. He told the detective he thought he was going to die, the warrant states.
He was dragged out of the SUV when they arrived at a field in Shallowater where they left him still tied, the warrant states. He said they took his wallet, keys and his SUV.
Williams said he rolled down a hill toward a road where a couple driving by saw him, untied him and called 911, the warrant states.
LPD found the stolen vehicle abandoned several hours later, according to a police news release.
A warrant for Pena and Reeder was issued Oct. 29, 2019 and the two were arrested two days later by the U.S. Marshals Service Fugitive Task Force, Lubbock County Sheriff's Office SWAT team and Lubbock police, the release states.
Pena remains held at the Lubbock County Detention Center. Her bond is set at $50,000, according to jail records.
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Man sentenced to 8 years in 2019 kidnapping, robbery case
