Shooter not guilty of capital murder, guilty of murder in phone sale killing trial
In the driver’s seat of his parked SUV, Lamonte Watkins was shot in the head.
His blood flecked on the hands, pants and shoes of Jaylon Reed, a man in the passenger seat whose ears rang when the shooter fired once from outside the SUV, Reed would later tell a detective.
Watkins and Reed were in the parking lot at a Euless apartment complex in the early evening on Feb. 10, 2022, to meet with a buyer to sell a cellphone. The buyer, Elijah Royal, was the shooter, a jury in a state district court in Tarrant County concluded this week as it found him guilty of murder.
Watkins and Reed connected with Royal on offerup.com.
After he was shown the phone and after leaving the parking lot in the 700 block of East Ash Lane for a time, Royal returned. Watkins said the vehicles were parked driver’s door to driver’s door, according to a search warrant affidavit written by Euless Police Department Detective Justin Coffee.
Royal, who had agreed to buy the phone for $280, was on his phone talking for almost five minutes.
Watkins’ patience wore, and he gestured to Royal by tapping on Watkins’ watch, Reed recalled.
After a few more minutes, Royal got out of his car with a gun, said “give it up” or something close and shot Watkins, 19, in the head, Reed said in an interview with Detective Coffee. Watkins died at a hospital.
Reed said he reached over Watkins, who was leaning toward the driver’s door. Reed said he grabbed Watkins’ silver 9mm pistol from the door pocket and got out of the SUV.
Royal got back into his car, backed out and started to leave. Reed fired one round at the driver’s side of the windshield. Reed said in the interview with the detective that he threw the gun at the windshield as Royal drove away.
Alleging that the killing occurred as Royal robbed Watkins, the Tarrant County Criminal District Attorney’s Office successfully sought from a grand jury an indictment charging Royal with capital murder.
A jury in Criminal District Court No. 4 on Wednesday found Royal not guilty of capital murder and guilty of the lesser included offense of murder.
The jury’s guilt-innocence verdict appears to be an assessment that Royal intentionally or knowingly caused Watkins’ death, but not during a robbery.
The jury assessed Royal’s punishment at 99 years in prison. The punishment range from which the panel was directed to select was five to 99 years, or life.
Royal, who is 27, will be eligible for parole after he serves 30 years.
Judge Andy Porter presided at the trial and sentenced Royal.
Defendants who are found guilty of capital murder and who were 18 or older at the time of the offense are sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, the automatic punishment when the state, as it did in the Royal case, waives the death penalty.
The defense appears to have made a self-defense argument. Royal testified in the guilt-innocence trial phase.
Attorneys Matt Hinojosa and Zachary Ashford represented the state at trial. Attorneys Leon Haley and Preston Spivey represented Royal.
