21-year-old Repeat Offender with Lengthy History Sent Back to Prison

SAN ANGELO – A 21-year-old repeat offender with a long history of crimes will be spending the next decade in prison.

According to court documents, on May 9, Thomas James Gonzalez, 21, pleaded guilty to aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, burglary of a habitation with intent to commit separate felony, and unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon.

Magistrate Judge Tommy Lafon, Gonzalez, Gonzalez's attorneys, and the state's attorney's all met online via zoom on Monday to finalize the deal.

In exchange for the guilty plea, Gonzalez will spend the next 10 years in prison.

Gonzalez was arrested for in Nov. 2020 for a shooting at the Motel 6. He was accused of shooting a resident of the hotel at 2:30 a.m. on Nov. 9, 2020. For more details on the shooting see: San Angelo Teens Arrested After Shooting at Motel 6

Gonzalez has been in the Tom Green County Detention Facility since the shooting and will get credit for time served.

As a 21-year-old, Gonzalez has already been incarcerated twice. In 2018 he was was sentenced to two years in prison for escaping from the Tom Green County Juvenile Detention Center. He was in the juvenile center for possession of methamphetamine.