Harris County jurors issued a stern rejection this week of claims by a Washington, D.C.-based law firm that challenged the way Harris County seizes assets from drug dealers and money launderers.

Jurors in the 281st District Civil Court rejected arguments by the Institute for Justice – a Libertarian law firm that challenges such established governmental programs as eminent domain and asset forfeiture – that law-enforcement officers here were seizing drug proceeds based on “suspicion,” rather than the required “probable cause.” After a weeklong trial, jurors took only four hours to overwhelmingly reject the baseless claims. Jurors specifically found that officers had probable cause to seize $41,680 that was intended to purchase illegal narcotics in Harris County in 2019.

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A habitual offender who fatally shot a man during a late-night argument in front of an Acres Homes convenience store in 2020 was sentenced to 80 years in prison this week, Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg announced.

“Our urban areas are plagued by violence, especially gun violence, and that is why we work so hard to get justice in cases like this,” Ogg said. “This family had to bury a loved one because this defendant started an argument and then decided to start shooting.”

Demondrian Denshae McWright, 33, was sentenced by a judge late Monday after a Harris County jury convicted him of murder following a six-day trial.

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The Houston woman who killed 5-year-old Samuel Olson in 2021 was sentenced Wednesday to 52 years in prison, Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg announced.

“This woman robbed the world of a little boy with a big smile and bright future, and there is no prison sentence long enough for someone like her,” Ogg said. “We have now guaranteed that she has been held accountable, will serve decades in prison and can never appeal her sentence, and that is, in small measure, justice.”

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A Houston man who jumped bail before his trial in 2021 and was rearrested pleaded guilty to murder this week and was sentenced to 50 years in prison, Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg announced.

“This is a repeat offender who did everything possible to escape responsibility and accountability for his crimes,” Ogg said. “We have finally been able to deliver justice for the victim’s family.”

Kevin Wayne Calhoun, 32, was facing life in prison without parole if convicted of capital murder in the home-invasion death of 25-year-old Chad Reese on Aug. 5, 2016.

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A Baytown man was sentenced to 60 years in prison on the eve of trial after pleading guilty to murder for robbing and killing a 65-year-old man who used a wheelchair, Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg announced.

“It is important to remember that our elderly and disabled neighbors are vulnerable to scams, schemes and violence,” Ogg said. “This kind and generous man was killed by people who took advantage of him just because they could.”

Marcus Donnell Gilbert, 41, was scheduled to begin trial this week, but instead he pleaded guilty on Friday to murder in the death of John Henry Fernandez, who was found on Jan. 2, 2018. His hands and feet had been bound and his mouth had been taped shut. He had suffocated.

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A Colorado man who fled to Houston in 2019 after being charged with the murder of a 31-year-old woman has been sentenced to life in prison for fatally stabbing an acquaintance and taking his car, Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg announced.

“Houston is a big and diverse city, and someone on the run may think they can hide out here. But the cohesiveness of our community is our strength, and we will find and prosecute fugitives,” Ogg said. “It is a tragedy that a young man lost his life because someone he barely knew was trying to escape any responsibility and accountability.”

Abbas Abdal Abed, 47, was convicted by a jury earlier this month in the stabbing death of 29-year-old Abdulrahman Haris on Dec. 15, 2019.

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A Houston man was sentenced Wednesday to 38 years in prison by a Harris County jury for the fatal stabbing of his neighbor in the East End in 2019, District Attorney Kim Ogg announced.

“This case is absolutely heartrending and tragic because there was absolutely no reason that a conflict between neighbors should escalate to murder,” Ogg said. “We thank the jurors who held this defendant accountable and sentenced him to prison.”

Stuart Simonton, 58, was convicted Tuesday of murder for stabbing 59-year-old Angelina Wiseman Gailey on the porch in front of the duplex they shared on Harrisburg on April 3, 2019.

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A Houston ambulance owner who scammed $3.5 million out of health insurance providers has been sentenced to eight years in prison, Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg announced.

“We have prioritized going after scammers who create long-term schemes like this because fraud raises costs for the average consumer,” Ogg said. “Millions of dollars are lost to businesses each year by the actions of white-collar criminals, and we will continue to partner with other agencies so that we can effectively prosecute these kinds of crime.”

Floyd Eugene Dixon, owner of Ambu-Care Transportation, pleaded guilty to first-degree felony theft and health care fraud and was recently sentenced to eight years in prison.

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A 33-year-old Houston man has been sentenced to 20 years in prison after pleading guilty in two separate assaults, announced Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg.

“This is a predator who has a pattern of attacking and hurting women when he is free to roam,” Ogg said. “He has been sentenced to spend the next two decades behind bars, where he can no longer harm or victimize women.”

Florian S. Kroll was sentenced Friday to 20 years in prison for sexually assaulting a woman on Jan. 12, 2020, in the elevator at H-E-B in the Heights. He will have to serve at least half of that sentence before he is eligible for parole. Since he pleaded guilty, he cannot appeal the conviction or the prison sentence.

He was also sentenced to 10 years in prison for attempted sexual assault of a child for attacking a 16-year-old girl as she walked home from school in north Houston about 1:20 p.m. on Jan. 15, 2020.

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