A Houston man was convicted of capital murder and sentenced to life in prison without parole late Monday for killing his 8-year-old stepson in 2020, Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg announced.

“Our children are our most vulnerable victims,” Ogg said. “And even though we can’t bring back little Kendrick Lee, at least we can ensure that his killer never again breathes free air.”

Brian Ward Coulter, 34, was found guilty of capital murder by a judge after a five-day bench trial that began last week. He was automatically sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for killing his wife’s 8-year-old son, Kendrick Lee, at their west Houston apartment.

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A Dallas man was sentenced late Friday to 63 years in prison after being convicted of murder for shooting a father of two at a west Houston bowling alley in 2022, Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg announced.

“We know that people are going to have arguments, they are going to have fights, but it is never appropriate to use a gun to settle an argument,” Ogg said. “The victim’s family lost a beloved family member and two little girls lost their father, and the right result in this case is that the killer spends decades in prison.”

Dionate Desmond Banks, 31, killed Gregory Shead, a 24-year-old father of two daughters, after an altercation between two groups of people outside a bowling alley on Bunker Hill just south of the Katy Freeway on Aug. 14, 2022.

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A serial rapist who assaulted six women between 2020 and 2022 was sentenced to 50 years in prison this week, Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg announced.

“This defendant made plans and followed through with those plans to violate and assault numerous victims,” Ogg said. “This was not a one-time crime, and we are proud that a Harris County jury saw the evidence and understood that this man should not be allowed on the street.”

Erique Howard, 28, agreed to a 50-year prison sentence after he was convicted in a six-day trial of raping a woman on May 5, 2022. Howard approached the woman while she was filling up her gas tank, forcing her to drive to a secluded area where he sexually assaulted her at gunpoint.

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A Houston man was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for raping a 15-year-old boy in 2022, Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg announced.

“It was important that we got justice for the victim in this case and, just as importantly, we are keeping this repeat offender from hurting anyone else ever again,” Ogg said. “We all have to be vigilant because this case shows there are sexual predators who walk among us and they can pull a gun on anyone anywhere.”

Scottie Dewayne Nelson, 49, was sentenced to life in prison late Friday after being convicted of sexual assault of a child between the ages of 14 and 17 for raping a boy on Sept. 11, 2022. It was the second time that Nelson was convicted of raping a child.

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A 32-year-old man from Humble was sentenced to life in prison for shooting his girlfriend during an argument in 2021, Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg announced.

“Like far too many domestic violence cases that we see, this was a senseless murder that did not have to happen,” Ogg said. “We all know how fast violence in a troubled relationship can escalate to murder, and that is why we take any and all allegations of abuse so seriously.”

Cameron Michael Davis was sentenced to life late Friday after a Harris County jury found him guilty of murder for killing 27-year-old Ryniscia Sanford around noon on Sept. 23, 2021.

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A 33-year-old Tomball woman was sentenced to 50 years in prison this week for killing her boyfriend’s 4-year-old daughter in 2019, Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg announced.

“We have to work together as a community to protect our children who are particularly vulnerable to abuse from violent adults,” Ogg said. “We are thankful to the jurors who recognized that this was not a single incident, but a pattern of abuse and rightfully sentenced this woman to spend decades behind bars.”

Shawna Hooey, 33, was tasked with taking care of 4-year-old Jakyzia Alexander along with her own five children when she took the little girl to a 24-hour emergency center on Sept. 7, 2019.

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A 28-year-old man was sentenced to 55 years in prison and a $10,000 fine for shooting a husband and father of two in the parking lot of a club in south Houston in 2022, Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg announced.

“We are thankful to the jury who recognized that this defendant went to extraordinary lengths to find and then gun down an unarmed man in broad daylight,” Ogg said. “Justice mandates that this killer spend decades behind bars for taking the life of a young father and husband who should have lived to see his kids grow up.” 

Luis Alejandro Valencia was convicted of murder and sentenced by a jury late Friday for shooting 29-year-old Erik Villeda on Feb. 12, 2022.

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