After deliberating two days, jury convicts man of murder in Fort Worth teen’s slaying
A man accused of capital murder was convicted on a lesser charge of murder by a Tarrant County jury on Friday.
Lajerrian Montae Morgan, 27, of Dallas, would have faced an automatic sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole if he had been found guilty of capital murder.
The murder conviction means Morgan could be sentenced to as few as five years in prison in the punishment phase of the trial that begins Tuesday afternoon. The maximum prison sentence he could receive is 99 years.
Morgan was one of three people arrested and charged in connection with the Oct. 7, 2016, shooting death of Chaz Gilley, 18. Jurors in Morgan’s trial deliberated for two days before returning with the verdict Friday.
Gilley was hit with a car and shot in broad daylight while riding his bicycle in southeast Fort Worth on East Berry Street. Gilley was intentionally run down and then shot several times as he ran away, according to police.
Police said they believe the suspects had randomly targeted Gilley to rob after he was spotted with money at a bank inside a Walmart store.
Chesala Sanderson, Gilley’s mother, has said her son went to the First Convenience Bank inside the Walmart that day to open an account so that he could cash his first paycheck.
After the shooting, a passerby picked up Gilley and drove him to a fire station, where an ambulance was summoned. He was taken to John Peter Smith Hospital, where he died almost 24 hours later from gunshot wounds to his torso and extremities.
Homicide Detective Matt Barron has said that investigators received a tip based on photographs of the vehicle believed to be driven by the suspects. With further investigation, he said, police were able to link Morgan to the black Chrysler used in the robbery.
Barron said he believed Morgan was driving the car when Gilley was struck.
A second suspect arrested in connection with the murder, Naficy Vondrake Baker, 26, was found guilty in July 2019 and sentenced in criminal district court to life in prison without parole, according to the Tarrant County District Attorney’s Office.
A third man, James Murphy, was arrested and indicted on a murder charge in the case, but the Tarrant County District Attorney’s Office sought the charge’s dismissal when it became clear Murphy was not involved.
This story includes information from Star-Telegram archives.
