A 47-year-old Houston man has been sentenced to 60 years in prison for shooting his girlfriend and her mother, then opening fire on police in 2021, Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg announced Friday.

“We know that the most dangerous time for victims of domestic violence, and the police trying to help them, is when the victims try to get out of a bad situation,” Ogg said. “This violent and abusive man killed two women and tried to kill police officers who responded to the scene — he deserves to spend the rest of his life behind bars.”

Lewis Trinidad Nunez pleaded guilty last week to fatally shooting his girlfriend, 39-year-old Virginia “Jenni” Lillard, and her mother, 64-year-old Rita Lillard, and then shooting at a Houston police officer who responded to the incident on June 20, 2021.

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As part of a broader gun-safety campaign rollout, Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg joined with law enforcement and community partners Thursday to announce her office will distribute free gun safes for residents to use at home and in their vehicles.

“Safely storing firearms is critical to keep them from falling into the hands of criminals or our children,” Ogg said at a news conference hosted by Congregation Beth Israel. “These types of partnerships have let us take action in a very positive way.”

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A 51-year-old Nassau Bay man was sentenced this week to 25 years in prison for killing his girlfriend in 2020, Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg announced.

“This incident of intimate partner violence escalating to murder absolutely did not have to happen,” Ogg said. “This woman was a mother, a grandmother and a big part of her community who had so much life ahead, and it was all taken away by a jealous partner with a gun.”

Roger Wayne Douglas fatally shot 47-year-old Tanya Melton at his apartment in the 2000 block of San Sebastian Court in Nassau Bay in the early-morning hours of Aug. 1, 2020. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced Wednesday by state District Judge Brian Warren.

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A 43-year-old man who fatally shot one of his roommates and wounded another at their southwest Houston apartment in 2017, then brutally stabbed an acquaintance a year later, pleaded guilty on the eve of trial and was sentenced to 30 years in prison Tuesday, Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg announced.

“This man brutally attacked three people in two different incidents, which does not happen by chance or coincidence or happenstance,” Ogg said. “When someone intentionally hurts people, like this, we seek justice for the victims, and a long prison term is justice.”

Josue Celis-Maltes, 43, was arrested after going to a friend’s apartment at 10110 Club Creek in southwest Houston on May 5, 2018. He rushed into the apartment and stabbed an acquaintance, who was a visitor at the home, twice in the chest. That man survived.

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A Houston man has been sentenced to 20 years in prison and a $10,000 fine for shooting an innocent shopper in the parking lot of a Kroger grocery store in the Jersey Village area, Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg announced Tuesday.

“The citizens of Harris County are tired of gun violence, especially a case like this in which an incident of domestic abuse led to an innocent shopper being shot six times,” Ogg said. “Innocent people should not have to worry about being shot while putting their groceries in their car.”

Kendrick Green, 37, was sentenced by a jury last week after being convicted of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon for shooting a 33-year-old man at the Kroger at 9125 W. Sam Houston Parkway about 11:50 p.m. on Aug. 6, 2021.

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A Houston man has been sentenced to 30 years in prison for shooting a man in the back during a botched drug deal in the parking lot of a Clearlake-area convenience store in 2020, Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg announced Friday.

“Gun violence in our community is pervasive and far too often we see someone pull a gun and start shooting just to solve an argument,” Ogg said. “And when that happens, it is a tragedy for everyone involved.”

Kendrick Marquis Bluitt, 23, pleaded guilty to murder on the eve of trial earlier this week. He admitted to shooting 21-year-old Caleb McCarty about 5:40 p.m. on Sept. 30, 2020. Bluitt and two young women met McCarty at a gas station at 245 El Dorado Blvd., just off the Gulf Freeway, to buy marijuana.

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A California man convicted of two counts of murder and crashing into an Uber vehicle while leading police on a chase and killing two passengers in 2020 has been sentenced to 50 years in prison, Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg announced.

“This is a man with a long criminal history, and he finally did the horrible thing that we worry about when someone continually commits crimes,” Ogg said. “These two young women, who were being responsible by using a rideshare service instead of driving, should have been safe riding home — they should still be alive.”

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A former detention officer at the Harris County Jail was indicted Thursday and charged with felony manslaughter in the February 2021 death of a jail inmate, the first time criminal charges have been filed against a detention officer in an in-custody death at the jail.

Eric Niles Morales, 28, of Houston, is charged in the death of Jaquaree Simmons, a 23-year-old Houston man found unconscious in his cell during Winter Storm Uri on Feb. 17, 2021. A Harris County medical examiner ruled that Simmons died of blunt-force trauma to his head. Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez fired 11 detention officers and suspended six others in the wake of the investigation. Morales is the only one charged in the death.

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A Houston man was sentenced to 45 years in prison this week after pleading guilty to murder for robbing and shooting a man in Alief in 2018, Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg announced.

“The victim in this case was totally innocent of any wrongdoing; in fact, he was waiting for a ride to work when he was gunned down in a senseless robbery,” Ogg said. “The hardworking residents of Harris County should not be afraid that they could lose their life to gun violence while standing in front of their own homes.”

Elie Ngouelet, 23, agreed to plead guilty to murder after a jury was selected in his capital murder trial for the slaying of Ramon Esquivel. If convicted, Ngouelet would have been sentenced automatically to life in prison without parole. Because he pleaded guilty to murder, he must serve at least half his 45-year sentence before he is eligible for parole, and he cannot appeal the conviction or sentence.

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