Judge who allowed confessed killer to remain free on bond so he could get a haircut sends him back to jail
HARRIS COUNTY, Texas - James Ray Lane showed up to the 351st Criminal District Court last week for his scheduled appearance, but he didn't walk out.
Lane spent two years free on bond for a murder charge after Judge Natalia Cornelio lowered his bond amount to $100,000.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Harris County judge allows convicted murderer to remain free on bond to get haircut
On August 17, Lane entered a guilty plea. He admitted to killing 30-year-old Gregory Moore, a father of four, on June 28, 2021.
Then, according to court documents, Judge Cornelio allowed the confessed killer to remain free on bond, so he could go to Mr. Dunns Barber Shop to get his hair cut before getting sentenced.
"He said I have to turn myself in. I murdered somebody," said barber Quinta Durgan.
"If he pleaded guilty, he should have been locked up right then," said Gregory Moore's father, Gregory Lamonte Johnson.
"My son can't get a haircut," said Gregory Moore's stepmother, Tabitha Soules. "He can't see his kids get a haircut."
"It touched a nerve with the people in Harris County," said Andy Kahan with Crime Stoppers. It became a national story."
The judge became the subject of an August 29 podcast, called Crime Stories with Nancy Grace.
When Lane returned to court last week, Cornelio remanded him into custody. Now, he will remain behind bars until his sentencing on October 18. He faces anywhere from five to 99 years in prison.
"The 351st did a good job, and they did exactly what we thought should have happened in the first place," Kahan said.