WILLMAR -- Lazaro Soliz III, 41, of Willmar, was sentenced Thursday to 104 months -- eight years and eight months -- in prison for selling methamphetamine and cocaine, tampering with witnesses to his drug charges and assaulting a man who confronted him for abusing a woman.
The sentence, handed down in Kandiyohi County District Court by Judge Michael J. Thompson, also orders Soliz to pay $4,050 on fines from his prison earnings. He was also sentenced to 90 days, with credit for time served, on a misdemeanor domestic abuse charge.
After the sentencing, Thompson told Soliz to use the prison time to consider turning his life around from selling drugs and perpetuating violence.
"You appear to be a fairly bright person," the judge told Soliz. "You are using your intelligence in the wrong fashion."
Thompson did not recommend Soliz for the Department of Corrections "boot camp" program for drug offenders, which was requested by his attorney Justin Seurer. Seurer also requested the fines be paid with $10,000 in bail money that was seized from Soliz. Thompson ordered Soliz to pay the fines with his prison earnings.
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Soliz pleaded guilty to the four felony charges in October in a plea agreement that dismissed nine additional felonies and a petty misdemeanor. The charges included two sets of drug sale charges, one dating back to April 2006 for a CEE-VI Drug Task Force investigation into a methamphetamine sale. According to court files, Soliz was the supplier of 12.5 grams of meth. The other set of drug charges identified Soliz as the dealer of cocaine and meth sold in December 2006 and January. Police executed search warrants of his home after each deal and found drugs, cash, a digital scale and drug paraphernalia.
Witness tampering and harassment charges were filed in February after the CEE-VI informant involved in Soliz's arrest was threatened. The informant told officers Soliz made reference to the man as a "dead man" and to being part of the Mexican mafia.
The assault charges came after a July incident in which Soliz was beating a woman at a Willmar home. The incident also included an assault against a man who was confronting Soliz about the domestic abuse. The man was struck by a bar stool and thrown against a wall. He was transported to the hospital for treatment of a lacerated liver.
Connie Crowell, first assistant county attorney, told the court Soliz was on an "out-of-control rampage" to hurt and control people to maintain his status as a drug dealer. "He deserves every day, every month and every year in prison," she said.
After the sentencing, Crowell expressed appreciation for the sentence, which was within the state's guidelines based on Soliz's limited criminal history. "I'm glad he's going to prison for a long time," she said. "Hopefully, he will leave his victims alone."
