In the latest episode of How Is This Still Happening, a 49-year-old Lubbock man, Robert Arnold, is back in jail after allegedly kidnapping, brutally assaulting, and repeatedly sexually assaulting a woman—just weeks after posting bond on a previous assault case involving the same victim. Yes, the same guy. Yes, the same address on 88th Street. And yes, there was already a protective order in place, which (spoiler alert) didn’t protect much of anything.
According to court documents, the December incident allegedly began at a convenience store, where the suspect reportedly threatened the victim with a gun, claimed he could track her vehicle, and forced her to drive to his home. Once there, police say the violence escalated into strangulation, repeated physical assaults, threats of murder, and multiple sexual assaults spanning days. The victim ultimately escaped by convincing him it would look suspicious if her car stayed parked outside his house too long—an escape plan that says a lot about how desperate the situation had become.
Even after all that, the man reportedly managed to violate the protective order again—this time by calling the victim from jail while she was speaking with police at the hospital. If there were an Olympic event for ignoring court orders, this would’ve been a gold-medal performance.
The kicker? This wasn’t his first trip to the Lubbock County Detention Center. Back in November, he was arrested for assault, sexual assault, strangulation, and interfering with a 911 call. That arrest came with a $70,000 bond—which he posted—before allegedly returning to commit far more severe crimes. This time, the bond total is $925,000, presumably because someone finally realized the “please don’t do crimes” paperwork wasn’t cutting it.
Protective orders, ankle monitors, and bond amounts only work if they actually stop someone—so how many warning labels does Lubbock need before the system stops acting surprised?
https://www.everythinglubbock.com/news/local-news/robert-arnold-lubbock-arrest/