Baytown man sentenced to 60 years behind bars for robbing, killing elderly man who used wheelchair
Marcus Donnell Gilbert
HARRIS COUNTY, Texas - A Baytown man will spend at least 30 years behind bars after pleading guilty to robbing and killing a 65-year-old man who used a wheelchair, Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg said.
Marcus Gilbert, 41, was scheduled to begin trial this week, but instead he pleaded guilty to murder in the death of John Henry Fernandez, who was found on Jan. 2, 2018.
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Ogg said Fernandez' hands and feet had been bound, his mouth had been taped shut, and he had suffocated.
Gilbert, who was known as Skunk, and his girlfriend had moved into Fernandez’s Baytown apartment more than a month earlier. Fernandez, who was known throughout the apartment complex as a gentle, grandfatherly type, did not have family in the area and needed help.
"It is important to remember that our elderly and disabled neighbors are vulnerable to scams, schemes and violence," Ogg said. "This kind and generous man was killed by people who took advantage of him just because they could."
Gilbert’s girlfriend agreed to provide that help in exchange for a place to live. Instead of helping, she allowed her boyfriend to routinely visit, culminating in the planned robbery and killing of Fernandez on Christmas Day 2017.
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After concerned neighbors alerted apartment management, maintenance workers found Fernandez’s body locked inside his bedroom.
Investigators tracked down Gilbert and his girlfriend and learned they had taken Fernandez’s television, ATM card and cellphone. Gilbert told police that his girlfriend had killed Fernandez and tied him up after he was dead.
The girlfriend, whose murder case is still pending, told police that Gilbert beat, kicked and tied up Fernandez, killing him by stuffing a bedwetting pad in his mouth and using duct tape to close his mouth and eyes. She said they watched Fernandez die and left with the television and other belongings.
Both were arrested by the Baytown Police Department and charged with capital murder. Gilbert was facing life in prison without parole, so he pleaded guilty to murder in exchange for 60 years in prison. He must serve at least 30 years before he is eligible for parole. He cannot appeal the conviction or the sentence.