WOOD COUNTY, Texas (KETK) — A California man was sentenced to 15 years in prison on Wednesday by a Wood County judge after he was found guilty of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

According to the Wood County Criminal District Attorney’s Office, in July 2025, 46-year-old Arne Oliver was arrested by deputies from the Wood County Sheriff’s Office after they received a report from a Mineola resident stating Oliver was threatening him with a knife.

The 62-year-old resident who owned the home Oliver was living in stated that Oliver had placed a knife to his throat and said, “You deserve to be decapitated,” according to the district attorney’s office.

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Once on the scene, deputies interviewed Oliver, who allegedly changed his version of events several times and appeared to be acting erratically and in a hostile manner. Oliver was then placed under arrest and charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

During Oliver’s trial, the jury learned that he had at least 11 previous convictions in California for drug-related charges, along with battery and assault with a deadly weapon. Oliver received probation after each conviction and violated his sentence at least five times.

During Oliver’s sentencing hearing, he requested that the jury place him on probation, but they denied it. Due to Oliver’s use of a deadly weapon, he would be forced to serve half of his sentence before he is eligible for parole.

On Wednesday, Oliver was sentenced to 15 years in prison after less than an hour of deliberation.

“The defendant has been committing crimes for over two decades and has never truly been held accountable,” Wood County Criminal District Attorney Angela Albers said. “I was very pleased that the jury rejected his request for probation and sentenced him to over a decade in prison. The jury made him very aware this is not California. He has shown no regard for anyone in society, but himself, and our community is now safer that this violent man will be behind
bars.”

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