Kilgore Man Goes to Prison for Kidnapping

LONGVIEW — A Kilgore man, who had been accused of trying to kill his father and himself last May, has been sentenced to 9 years in prison for aggravated kidnapping. In a plea deal, an attempted murder charge was dismissed against William Emmett Lawson, 51, on Tuesday. On Wednesday, he was sentenced to prison.

According to a news release from the Kilgore Police Department at the time of the incident, officers found Lawson and his father, Robert Emmett Lawson, 76, both of Kilgore. The men were inside the cab of a pickup. Officers detected the strong odor of propane and on the windows were signs that said “Danger Propane.”

Officers say William Lawson threatened to ignite the propane. As the windows started fogging up, with the help of the Kilgore Fire Department, officers were able to get inside the truck where they saw William Lawson attempting to strangle his father. Inside the truck they found a propane tank.