Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg announced today that her office would grant a local group $269,000 to quadruple its staff of forensic sexual assault interviewers to ensure a less invasive and less intimidating experience for crime victims.

Ogg joined with experts in the field of interviewing sexual assault victims to explain the process of “adult forensic interviewing.” Forensic interviewing is a process in which highly trained experts meet with sexual assault victims to get the information necessary to identify and prosecute their attackers without adding to the fear and trauma inherent in a sexual assault. Adult forensic interviewers coordinate with law enforcement to interview victims in a safer, neutral and less intimidating environment than a police station or hospital interview room.

As a result, assault victims often share more information in greater detail than they might in a more aggressive law-enforcement interview.

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A Houston man was sentenced to 50 years in prison Tuesday after pleading guilty to murder for killing his cellmate in the Harris County Jail in 2021, Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg announced.

“This is an awful tragedy and we mourn for the family’s loss of their loved one,” Ogg said. “This defendant took responsibility for what he did and although nothing will ever bring the victim back, a 50-year-prison sentence is a just result.”

Michael Ownby, 27, agreed to the punishment a day after his murder trial began with jury selection on Monday. He pleaded guilty to fatally beating 19-year-old Fred Harris in the jail on October 29, 2021. Harris was taken to the hospital and died two days later.

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A Houston man was sentenced to life in prison without parole for killing a 37-year-old father during an armed robbery outside of a theater complex near Spring Branch in 2021, Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg announced.

“Gun violence continues to tear apart our community because criminals like this man specifically intend to rob, hurt and kill others,” Ogg said. “Our job is to seek justice, and jurors agreed that this killer should never be on the street again.”

Nicholas Dwayne Thomas, 26, was convicted of capital murder by a Harris County jury late Friday and automatically sentenced to life in prison without parole for shooting 37-year-old Miguel Vasquez on April 4, 2021.

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A Pasadena woman was sentenced late Thursday to 25 years in prison and a $5,000 fine for shooting her estranged husband while he played with his 3-year-old son, Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg announced.

“This woman had a premeditated plan of attack to intentionally kill the father of her children and went through with it in broad daylight,” Ogg said. “It is an absolute tragedy that because of her, this man’s kids will grow up without a father.”

Samantha Washington, 34, was convicted of murder and sentenced to 25 years in prison by a Harris County Jury for killing 28-year-old Gregory Kirk on May 11, 2021.

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A Houston man who had previously been sent to death row for killing a Sunnyside couple in 1990 was resentenced to death by a Harris County Jury late Wednesday, District Attorney Kim Ogg announced.

“These are very difficult cases, they take a real emotional toll on everyone, and I want to give our condolences again to the remaining and living family members of the Fitzgerald family,” Ogg said. “Because of his history of violent acts, including stabbing a prison guard, the jury decided that Mr. Wheatfall was too great of a threat, even at his age, to get off death row.”

Daryl Wheatfall, 57, was first sentenced to death in 1991 for killing 62-year-old James Fitzgerald and his 67-year-old wife, L.B., inside their home over $50 on December 13, 1990.

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A 50-year-old man was sentenced to 37 years in prison for killing a neighborhood acquaintance in Denver Harbor in broad daylight in 2021, Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg announced.

“Our hearts go out to the friends and family of this man, who was the victim of a premeditated, calculated and deliberate attack,” Ogg said. “It was important to get justice and we hope this conclusion gives peace and closure to the victim’s loved ones.”

Jose Gutierrez, 50, was convicted of murder and sentenced to 37 years in prison late Friday by a Harris County jury for the fatal shooting of 37-year-old Robert Andrew Almendarez around noon on October 8, 2021.

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A Houston man who pistol-whipped and then fatally shot his girlfriend’s adult brother during an argument in 2022 was sentenced to life in prison by a Harris County jury, District Attorney Kim Ogg announced.

“Domestic violence doesn’t just affect the person who is being abused, it affects the entire family,” Ogg said. “All too often domestic violence escalates to murder, and this case shows that a family member can lose their life just trying to help someone else get out of an abusive relationship.”

Kempsha L. Wilson, 28, was sentenced Thursday after five days of trial for the murder of 32-year-old Spencer Nichols on Feb. 15, 2022.

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A Brenham man who held a Spring mother at gunpoint in her garage earlier this year while demanding money and sexual acts was sentenced to 20 years in prison and must register as a sex offender for life, Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg announced.

“This kind of random assault is everyone’s nightmare, and we are glad we were able to get justice for this family,” Ogg said. “Even after he spends 20 years behind bars, he will have to deal with the consequences of what he did for the rest of his life.”

Jeremy Kejuan Wright, 21, pleaded guilty Friday to six crimes, including aggravated robbery with a deadly weapon, two counts of aggravated sexual assault, two counts of aggravated sexual assault with a deadly weapon and burglary.

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A Houston man was sentenced to life in prison this week for his role in two murders in 2020, Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg announced.

“In this case, there are two families who lost loved ones to the kind of rampant gun violence that we are seeing far too often in Harris County,” Ogg said. “We mourn with the families of the victims, and we hope that getting justice in their cases brings them at lease a small amount of peace.”

Xavier Jerome McConico, 23, was sentenced to life in prison after being convicted of murder for shooting 27-year-old Earl Anthony-Blair Foster of Missouri City on March 31, 2020.

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