What would you do if your young adult daughter had sent her boyfriend nude photos of herself and since they’d broken up, you believe he’s going to share the photos? Have a serious talk with the guy? Threaten him? Kill him?
The ex-boyfriend had his 2-year-old daughter and a friend in his vehicle. Suddenly, someone driving a truck drove aggressively toward the ex-boyfriend’s vehicle. The ex -boyfriend slammed the transmission into reverse, but before he could get away, a man jumped from the truck, wielding a handgun. The man hit the driver’s window so hard with the gun it shattered. Then he fired one shot at the ex-boyfriend’s head.
The district attorney on the case thought it was a reflex action of the ex-boyfriend’s foot on the throttle and the gear in reverse that the vehicle catapulted backwards, landing in a ravine.
The passenger in the crashed vehicle called 9-1-1. Response crews and law enforcement arrived on the scene assuming it was a single vehicle accident. The paramedic let the sheriff’s deputy on scene know the driver was dead from a gunshot to the head.
Hoping the passenger could help identify the shooter, she only knew the man was in a blue truck and that there were country looking guys with him in the truck. The case went cold for two years. Then one man, who had been in the truck at the time of the incident, came forward and told the authorities what happened that night.
He’d gone on a ride with the ex-girlfriend’s stepfather and another guy to look for the ex-boyfriend. Once they found him, the plan was to delete the photos from his cell phone. Instead, when they found the ex-boyfriend, the stepfather ran toward the vehicle and shot him.
An attorney with the district attorney’s office associated with the case said about the new witness,
“We are just grateful for citizens that are willing to step forward regardless of the cost, because that's what it takes to solve crime.”
With the testimony of the new eyewitness, they arrested the stepfather. He opted for a jury trial. His attorney argued a guilty man would not leave the weapon used in the crime in plain sight in his home—where they found the gun.
At the trial, the Prosecuting Attorney said about the stepfather exiting the truck with a gun in hand,
“When you get out of the truck, and you pull the hammer back and you bang it against the window you’ve committed an act clearly dangerous to human life.”
After three hours of deliberation, the jury found the stepfather guilty of murder. Following the trial, the jury sentenced the 42-year-old stepfather to 40 years in prison.
Source: Gregg County Sheriff’s Office, Kilgore News Herald, Longview News-Journal, CBS 19, ABC KLTV 7, Law & Crime
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