HOUSTON, TEXAS: Jace Weeks, a 24-year-old man who fatally shot a drug seller during an LSD deal has been sentenced to 25 years in prison. He confessed to the investigators in Houston, Texas that he killed 31-year-old Sam Kyle James on April 30, 2018, as per the charging affidavit.
Speaking of the incident that took place at the victim's apartment complex, Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg stated "This was a pointless murder that didn’t have to happen," and added, "By getting justice for the victim’s family, they are able to have some closure and move forward with their grief," according to Law and Crime.
Who is Jace Week?
Week, who is getting 465 days of time-served credit for his sentence, was the would-be buyer who killed James during the deal. In June, his co-defendant Devyn Durham was acquitted of murder charges. James' girlfriend noticed him constantly texting a user named Devyn, who was later identified as Durham.
James was purportedly the seller in the drug deal and had arranged to meet a man from Lufkin. According to prosecutors, Weeks, from the nearby town of Huntington, joined Durham for the trip to Houston, and as a precaution, he brought a .22-caliber rifle with them.
The seller told his girlfriend to look for him if he did not return within 15 minutes following the deal. She later found him with fatal wounds in the apartment complex's parking garage.
What led to the fatal shooting?
Investigators reviewed the CCTV footage and found the vehicle at the parking garage belonged to one of Durham's male relatives. His grandmother stated that Durham had been driving the vehicle on April 18, 2018.
According to a witness, the firearm was placed in the trunk as Durham wanted it to be used in case of any issues. However, the complaint stated Durham told Weeks to get the gun out of the vehicle as they got into the apartment complex to meet the seller. Weeks' later admitted to shooting James. "Defendant Weeks said that when [James] opened the passenger door of the vehicle he shot [James]," wrote the authorities.
Durham said it was Weeks who shot James when he negotiated the price of the drugs. "Defendant Durham stated that [James] then opened the passenger door of the vehicle and defendant Jace Weeks then shot [James]," read the document.
Bryan Honeycutt, Assistant District Attorney stated, "It was very important to the victim’s family that the killer face justice, and he took responsibility for his actions and admitted to how everything happened," before adding "The family of [Sam] Kyle James has waited very patiently for the past five years, and we were able to negotiate an appropriate sentence."
