Life means nothing to man in White Settlement capital murder trial, prosecutor says
A man accused of shooting and killing a convenience store customer during a robbery has been found guilty of capital murder.
The punishment phase of the capital murder trial for Burnches Markish Mitchell, 26, continued on Monday. Mitchell could receive the death penalty.
Khrystophir Scott, 27, died days after the Jan. 27, 2017, robbery from a gunshot wound to the neck, according to the Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office.
Scott was a customer at the Quick Sak store at 898 S. Cherry Lane in White Settlement when two men entered the store and demanded that everyone get on the ground, according to police.
A struggle ensued when the customer would not get down, and he was shot.
Scott was taken to John Peter Smith Hospital in Fort Worth. He died in the operating room.
The victim’s roommate and friend, Glen Shoecraft, made a public Facebook post Feb. 2 asking for prayers for Scott, and another post Feb. 3 saying Scott had taken a turn for the worse and would be taken off life support the next day.
During closing arguments in the guilt-innocence phase of Mitchell’s trial, prosecutors told the jury that Mitchell had problems obeying the law for a long time.
“He has shown us what he is willing and ready to do,” said D.J. Estes, Tarrant County prosecutor. “He has shown us how much our lives are worth to him.”
Mitchell is a suspect in at least a dozen other aggravated robberies in north Texas, according to a Facebook post from the Tarrant County District Attorney’s Office.
“He intended to kill everyone in every one of those stores,” said Tiffany Burks, Tarrant County prosecutor. “He was terrorizing those customers ... any one of us could have been one of those people.”
According to a court document filed in October:
As a juvenile, Mitchell stabbed James Fields to death on Aug. 12, 2006, was found to be involved in delinquent behavior and then was sentenced to 10 years’ confinement with the Texas Youth Commission.
Mitchell was identified as a gang member and adjudicated delinquent for assaulting a public servant on Jan. 15, 2010.
Mitchell was transferred to adult prison but released on parole on Feb. 13, 2013, and was discharged from parole on Nov. 7, 2016.
After his release, Mitchell was implicated in several armed robberies.
Mitchell was convicted of aggravated assault against a public servant in Hunt County, Texas, on May 30, 2017, and was sentenced to 40 years in prison.
This story includes information from Star-Telegram archives.
