Teen convicted in 2023 fatal shooting at Arlington school moved to adult prison
A 19-year-old man convicted in a 2023 Arlington school shooting that killed one student and injured another was transferred to an adult prison after a hearing last week, officials said.
The hearing on June 17 was to determine if Jonathan Porter, convicted of capital murder in a shooting outside Lamar High School, should be released on parole or transferred to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice to serve the remainder of his 40-year sentence, the Tarrant County District Attorney’s Office said in a statement.
A Tarrant County jury handed down a maximum sentence to the teen, who was 16 in September 2023 when he opened fire at a group of students outside Lamar High School, killing 16-year-old Ja’Shawn Poirier and wounding another student.
The second victim who survived, I’yahni Reynolds was struck by a shrapnel that lodged in her face. Reynolds testified in the hearing and told the court that she lives with the trauma of the attack, Fox 4 reported.
“If I had moved my head or body in any other way, it could’ve lodged in my neck. I wouldn’t have gone home that day,” Reynolds said.
Porter was involved in a fight six months before the June 17 hearing and another one last month, said prosecutor Lloyd Whelchel, Fox 4 reported. The court was also shown a surveillance video from a day before the hearing where Porter was seen attacking a juvenile court staffer and trying to escape.
“Nothing has changed,” Whelchel said. “He took this woman’s son for no reason. Shot this woman, this young lady, in the face. He didn’t even see her or know her. And he endangered approximately 20 other kids who were out there that day for no reason. He lied to law enforcement about why he committed this crime. He falsely accused two young men of sexual assault.”
After hearing from the witnesses Judge Alex Kim made the decision to transfer Porter to the custody of Texas Department of Criminal Justice, the DA’s office said. He is currently being held in the Tarrant County jail.