HOUSTON - A Black Disciples gang member was given an 80-year prison sentence earlier this week for shooting an innocent bystander at a north Houston convenience store.
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Gang member killed wheelchair bound bystander, sentenced to 80 years in prison
A Black Disciples gang member was given an 80-year prison sentence earlier this week for shooting an innocent bystander at a north Houston convenience store.
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According to the Harris County District Attorney's Office, Cornelius Watson, 44, was convicted of murder late Thursday after Jarmel Jarmon-Joiner, 34, was shot to death outside a store on North Freeway.
Cornelius Watson (Photo courtesy of Harris County Jail Records)
Watson and several gang members were reportedly hanging out at the store around 2 a.m. in September 2020. That's when a man who they allegedly robbed earlier that evening confronted the gang members, and court documents said they started beating him up.
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During that time, officials said Watson and another gang member went into the store, where they hid other guns, and came out shooting.
Jarmon-Joiner, who was crossing the street at the same time, according to the DA's office, got injured in the crossfire and was shot in the torso, killing him.
Jarmel Jarmon-Joiner (Photo courtesy of Harris County District Attorney's Office)
"Gang violence is usually gun violence, and it doesn’t just affect gang members," DA Kim Ogg said in a press statement. "In this case, a completely innocent man crossing the street in a wheelchair lost his life because of an indiscriminate and senseless gunfight."
One of the Assistant DA's, Keaton Forcht, who is also chief in the Gangs Division, prosecuted the case noting how the 34-year-old was loved by his family and how Watson never admitted fault for the killing.
"The defendant testified that he did not respect the jury’s verdict and had no remorse for what he did," Forcht said. "These guys were so deeply engaged in criminal activity that taking someone’s life didn’t even concern them. They were completely indifferent to what they were doing."