February execution date set for Fort Worth man

An execution date was set this week for a 36-year-old Fort Worth man condemned for smothering an 89-year-old Bell Helicopter retiree in 2004 and robbing him.

A date of Feb. 7 was set for Tilon Lashon Carter in 371st State District Court in Fort Worth. It is the first execution date for Carter, who has been on Death Row since December 2006.

He was condemned for the robbery and slaying of James Tomlin, who was known to keep cash in containers around his Handley home.

Prosecutors said Carter and his girlfriend, Leketha Allen — whose mother, a prostitute, had a 20-year relationship with Tomlin — went to Tomlin’s home to rob him. His daughter found him dead later that day.

Investigators found more than $20,000 cash hidden in containers inside Tomlin’s house and car. Allen and Carter made off with a shotgun and some coins, prosecutors said.

Allen reached a deal with prosecutors and received a 25-year sentence. She is in prison with a projected release date of 2029.

In March, the U.S. Supreme Court declined without comment to hear Carter’s appeal. His appeals have focused on whether his Tarrant County trial attorneys were deficient and whether faulty instructions were given to trial jurors. At his trial, prosecutors portrayed Carter as a longtime criminal whose violence was escalating and who deserved the death penalty.

Four other Texas Death Row inmates have execution dates in the coming months.

This includes information from Star-Telegram archives.

This story was originally published September 16, 2016 at 8:30 PM with the headline "February execution date set for Fort Worth man."