Taylor man pleads guilty to stalking, gets 15 years in prison
WILLIAMSON COUNTY, Texas - A Taylor man was sentenced to 15 years in prison after he pled guilty to stalking with a previous stalking conviction.
As part of the plea, 30-year-old Harley William Hovey has also waived any right to appeal his case.
The Williamson County District Attorney's Office says Hovey agreed to plead guilty right before the jury selection process was set to begin in his trial.
Harley William Hovey (Williamson County DA's Office)
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In 2021, Hovey was convicted of stalking the friend and roommate of a Round Rock gym owner and sentenced to two years in prison. Hovey had also engaged in a series of "disturbing acts" targeting the gym owner, including putting a rabbit's head on their property, smashing a window at their business and smearing human feces on their car, says the DA's office.
That 2021 case prompted a protective order prohibiting Hovey from communicating at all with the gym owner or going to their place of business, among other restrictions.
However, in February, the DA's office says he violated that order by sending a threatening message to the gym owner's girlfriend through a fake Facebook account. Law enforcement investigated the message and linked the account to Hovey.
Later that same month, Hovey was caught on surveillance video early in the morning at the gym owner's business, wearing a ski mask and gloves to conceal his identity, another violation of the protective order.