San Antonio TV Personality Reveals He Spent Time in Prison

By Kevin Eck 

solis_kabbEstaban Solis , who appears on San Antonio FOX affiliate KABB and NBC affiliate WOAI, spoke with San Antonio website MySA about his checkered past and his shot at redemption.

The co-host of  “Daytime at Nine” on KABB revealed he served time in prison after his probation for an aggravated assault charge was revoked because of a DUI arrest.

When Solis, 32, was a young man of 20, he was at a party at a friend’s house and a fight broke out. So, he tried to help.”I saw my friend was in a jam. I did what any friend would do,” he says. “Unfortunately the consequences that came next came with it.” The charge — aggravated assault with a deadly weapon — netted him five years probation.

Advertisement

Solis served four years of a five year sentence.

He hosts a feature called “Changed Lives” highlighting others who have turned their lives around and credits WOAI GM John Seabers with giving him his second chance.

“He (Seabers) cracked the door for me, gave me that one little chance that no one would give me.”

Seabers said it was a big win for WOAI/KABB as well. “I was looking for a male presence on our lifestyle shows. I knew they needed to evolve a bit, needed a little freshness to them,” Seabers told the Express-News.

“We didn’t hire Esteban because he has a background — more like we hired him despite of it. He presented a set of skills we were looking for and we chose the best person to fit in this new role that we created.”

Solis said he takes responsibility for his mistakes.

“I totally messed up. And you know what — I own it, the worst mistake I ever made in my life.

“That one put a lot of lives on hold,” adds Solis. “I knew then it was time … to man up.” He ended up serving nearly four years, then was released on parole.

The worst part was not being able to be with his family. “When I saw my daughter again, she didn’t know who I was.”

It also was tough to get hired “with that stripe on my back.” He did odd jobs, yard work, “whatever it took to get by.” Everything had been put in perspective by his prison experience, he said; he was happy to be home with his family.

Advertisement