Houston man sentenced to life in prison without parole for murdering Spring couple

One of three men arrested for the execution-style slaying of a Spring couple in a 2018 home invasion was automatically sentenced to life in prison without parole after being convicted of capital murder, Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg announced Wednesday.

“Jenny and Bao Lam, who immigrated to America and built a prosperous life in Houston, were brutally killed during a home invasion in their gated community,” Ogg said. “The men responsible for their deaths broke in to rob, steal and kill, and they deserve to spend the rest of their lives in prison without the possibility of parole.”

Erick Peralta, 25, was convicted Tuesday of capital murder for killing Bao and Jenny Lam, both 61, on Jan. 13, 2018. Their adult son found them tied up and fatally shot in their home. The Lams were successful entrepreneurs who owned several Subway franchises and had two adult children.

Another assailant, Khari Ty Kendrick, was sentenced to life in prison without parole after being convicted in May.

Kendrick’s brother is awaiting trial on charges of capital murder. The three men were caught after a tipster who knew two of the defendants saw surveillance video of the trio sneaking past the entrance of the Lams’ gated community. The Harris County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case.

Peralta was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorneys Lacy Johnson and Samantha Knecht in a week-long trial.

“The Lam family deserves justice, and we are grateful to the Harris County sheriff’s deputies who investigated this case and the jurors who evaluated all of the evidence and sentenced the defendant to life in prison,” said Johnson, a chief in the DA’s Office’s Major Offenders Division.