Defendant in Jaguars shooting to start serving prison time 2 years after conviction

A 41-year-old man surrendered to authorities on Feb. 23 to begin serving a 5-year prison sentence handed down to him by a Lubbock district judge more than a year ago.

Brian McBeath, who was allowed to remain on bond while he appealed an Oct. 11, 2022 sentence, was booked into the Lubbock County Detention Center the same day the 7th Court of Appeals of Texas issued a mandate affirming his punishment.

The justices of the court issued an opinion in December ruling that district judge William Eichman in the 364th District Court appropriately weighed the evidence against McBeath, which included details from a decade-old conviction for marijuana trafficking.

McBeath, the son of former Lubbock County Judge Don McBeath, pleaded guilty in April 2022 to a third-degree felony count of deadly conduct by discharging a firearm, which carries a punishment of 2-10 years in prison.

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McBeath admitted to firing his gun on Aug. 18, 2019, in the direction of Jaguars strip club.

McBeath's plea was not part of a negotiation with the Lubbock County District Attorney's Office. Instead, he chose to let Eichman determine his punishment, which opened the possibility of probation.

McBeath's attorney, Fred Stangl, argued that his client's acceptance of responsibility, remorse and criminal history showed he was a suitable candidate for probation.

Meanwhile, prosecutors told the court that McBeath's actions, which they described as the kind of drive-by shooting that has plagued the city, arose from a "criminal thinking problem" that probation wouldn't address.

Prosecutors presented the court with evidence that included McBeath's prior conviction in 2012 for a count of money laundering in connection with large-scale marijuana trafficking investigation. He was placed on probation for 10 years in that case.

However, after serving a portion of his probation, McBeath applied for and was granted judicial clemency, which dismissed the case against him.

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McBeath's appellate attorney argued that while Eichman could know about his client's conviction, the clemency made the facts and circumstances surrounding the case inadmissible during the sentencing hearing.

Evidence of previous convictions or other acts is typically admissible during the punishment phase of trials.

In the previous case, narcotics investigators discovered he was the main supplier for a hydroponic marijuana trafficking enterprise in Lubbock.

Investigators found 45 pounds of hydroponic marijuana from California in McBeath's storage unit and nearly $200,000 in cash in his home. They also found multiple firearms in his home, but he denied keeping those weapons in furtherance of his drug trafficking enterprise.

McBeath admitted to selling marijuana for 4 years to "secure his family's future," according to court records.

Stangl said his client did so well on probation that McBeath was not only allowed to be taken off community supervision after 2 years and seven months. His conviction was also dismissed as long as he isn't convicted of another crime, court records show.

However, the justices ruled that McBeath's conviction in the shooting case nullifies his clemency.

Chief Justice Brian Quinn, who wrote the opinion, quoted Paul McCartney's 1975 song, "Listen to What the Man Said" saying, the record showed the 5-year sentence Eichman handed McBeath was based entirely on the facts of the shooting.

"Despite the hoopla voiced by the parties, the evidence about which appellant complained had no substantial or injurious effect or influence on the outcome," Quinn wrote.

A police report indicated McBeath was driving out of the Jaguars strip club parking lot with his headlights off when he fired in the direction of a security guard and bouncers in front of the club.

Zachary Navarro, who was working as a bouncer at the club the night of the shooting, told the court that he heard McBeath cry out, "Hey bouncer, you mother ******," before shooting.

Navarro described McBeath as belligerent when they told him he was no longer allowed at the club after they found a knife in his pocket, telling them that they "didn't know who you're ******* with."

No one from the club was injured. However, the club's security guard fired back and McBeath's wife, who was in the front passenger seat, was injured when the bullets struck her feet.

"This was a drive-by shooting, quite frankly," Eichman told McBeath before announcing his sentence. "Your wife suffered some pretty significant injuries and that was on you. And you’re the reason she suffered those injuries.Clearly, you have a temper. Clearly, based on some of the things you said, at least according to other witnesses that night, you have a sense of entitlement, unfortunately."

"And so I’m sentencing you to five years’ confinement in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice because I think that’s the appropriate sentence based on the acts of that night when taken into account everything."

McBeath, who has two days of jail credit, will have to serve half of his sentence, about 2 years before he can apply for release on parole.

This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Defendant in Jaguars shooting to start serving prison sentence