Harris County man sentenced in double murder of 11-year-old, his stepfather
HARRIS COUNTY, Texas - A man in Harris County was sentenced for the deadly ambush of an 11-year-old and his stepfather while they were in their driveway in 2020.
Dwayne Batiste, 43, was convicted of capital murder and sentenced to life in prison for the death of Dominic Sumicek and his 41-year-old stepfather, Menuell Solomon, as they sat in Solomon’s car outside their home on Oct. 26, 2020.
"This defendant’s intentions were clear: he wanted to commit murder and was trying to hide behind the triggerman who killed an innocent man and a little boy in broad daylight," Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg said. "We are grateful to the jurors who agreed that a capital murder conviction is the right result because it means this man can never again threaten our community."
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Batiste is the second person to be convicted in the premeditated and brazen ambush that shocked and saddened Houstonians.
Dwayne Batiste
About a week before the shooting, Solomon reported to police a man, who he believed to be Batiste, shot at him while he was parking his car in the driveway of his West Houston townhouse. Prosecutors suspect the motive was an attempted armed robbery after Solomon told police he was unsure why he had been targeted.
Batiste dropped his cell phone during the shooting and was seen on video by a neighbor’s doorbell camera. Prosecutors believe he planned Solomon's murder to evade accountability for the earlier attempted robbery.
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A week later, on the day of the ambush, Batiste and documented gang member Desmond Hawkins parked separately at an apartment complex, waiting for Solomon to return home. When Solomon arrived with his stepson at 4:12 p.m., Hawkins shot the 11-year-old twice, and Solomon four times, killing them both. The entire attack took just 49 seconds before they both left in separate vehicles, court documents said.
Dominic Sumicek
Hawkins was already on bond for a different capital murder and was wearing a GPS monitor. He was arrested for the double murder by detectives with the Houston Police Department. Hawkins was convicted of capital murder in September and sentenced to life in prison without parole.
HPD detectives arrested Batiste after an investigation and suspected three others were connected to the armed robbery and fatal attack.
After a five-day trial, Batiste was convicted of capital murder and automatically sentenced to life in prison without parole.
"We believe that the murders were clean-up for the earlier attempted aggravated robbery, and Dwayne Batiste tried to wrap himself in a cloak of deniability—he made sure he stayed hidden and had someone else do his dirty work for him," Assistant District Attorney Christopher Condon said. "At the end of the day, if not for the actions of Dwayne Batiste, 11-year-old Dominic Sumicek would now be a freshman in high school."
Authorities urge anyone with information on the identities of the other suspects to contact Crime Stoppers of Houston or the Houston Police Department.