After shooting his 17-year-old friend numerous times in the back as he was getting ready for bed during a sleepover, a 21-year-old man in Texas will serve several decades in prison.
Authorities said that James Michael Sotelo, who killed Corey Thompson, was sentenced to 40 years in a state penitentiary by Harris County District Court Judge Josh Hill on Friday.
After a six-day trial, a jury eight months ago found Sotelo guilty of one count of murder.
After presentence investigations were completed, Sotelo chose for Hill to decide on his penalty. According to Harris County law, a convicted individual has the option of having the judge or jury decide on their sentence.
“There was absolutely no reason for this cold-blooded murder, so we know this man is a danger to the community,” Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg stated. “In fact, after he was freed on bond for murder, he continued his criminal ways and was rearrested for carrying a gun.”
Thompson was staying the night at the Sotelo family residence on March 20, 2021. Prosecutors claimed in a press release that Sotelo, a then-18-year-old high school dropout, shot Thompson “at least 13 times as his friend was apparently trying to go to bed about 3 a.m.”
Responding to the residence were deputies from the Harris County Sheriff’s Office and emergency medical professionals. According to an investigation, Thompson was struck in the back eleven times by Sotelo.
One shot, at least, missed Thompson and passed through the wall of Sotelo’s bedroom, hitting Sotelo’s brother in the face as he slept. Despite the fact that Sotelo’s brother survived the shooting, Sotelo was found guilty of one further count of dangerous conduct.
On the dangerous conduct accusation, Hill gave Sotelo a two-year term that would run concurrently with his forty-year sentence. Because of how brutal and heartless the killing was, the prosecution claimed they were looking for an even harsher punishment.
“According to the defendant, he wasn’t intoxicated or under the influence of any drugs, which makes deliberately pulling the trigger 13 times that much worse,” Assistant District Attorney Kyle Tucker stated. “We asked the judge for a sentence of at least 50 years because this defendant doesn’t care about what he did, he did not have any remorse for the victim and there weren’t any mitigating factors.”
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According to a report from Houston, Texas Fox affiliate KRIV, Sotelo took the stand during the trial in his own defense and stated that he shot Thompson because the 17-year-old had attacked him while he was sleeping.
“Of course, that’s not true, because every gunshot that he had was sustained from the back. Eleven of them,” Thompson’s mother, April Wright stated.
The family restated that Sotelo never appeared to give a damn about killing their pal.
