Houston man charged in fatal shooting was exonerated in 2010 slaying, bond set to $1M

Man exonerated in 2010 murder accused in deadly road rage shooting

Lydell Grant, 46, was wrongfully convicted for a murder he didn’t commit in 2010, but over the weekend appeared in court for deadly road rage.

HOUSTON - Two years after being declared innocent of a stabbing he was convicted and served seven years for, a Houston man is being charged with murder in a fatal shooting.

46-year-old Lydell Elliott Grant is charged with Murder in the death of Edwin Arevalo. Around midnight on Friday, police say Grant allegedly shot Arevalo to death in the intersection of the 12500 block of Hiram Clarke Road and Brentwood Park after a crash.

PREVIOUS STORY: Man killed in Houston shooting after crash on Hiram Clarke

Houston police report that a man, now suspected to be Grant, was driving a Lexus with a woman in the car and Arevalo was in a Toyota. The Lexus was leaving out of a nearby gas station when they pulled up to a stop sign.

Both cars approached the intersection and the Toyota reportedly had the right of way.

Lydell Elliott Grant (Photo courtesy of Houston Police Department)

HPD Lieutenant Izaguirre says the Lexus went through the intersection and was struck by the Toyota.

Grant reportedly got out of the Lexus and shot at the Toyota multiple times before driving away from the scene. Arevalo was said to be struck in the chest and face. He was able to get out of his vehicle before falling to the ground near his Toyota.

Officials say officers in the area saw the stalled vehicle at the intersection and began rendering aid when they found Arevalo laying next to it. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Lydell Grant continues work to clear his name

EDITORS NOTE: This video is from a story in 2020. Lydell Grant, who was recently released, spoke with Isiah after a court asked for more evidence to exonerate him in the 2010 Montrose murder.

Lieutenant Izaguirre says surveillance video showed Grant and the woman pulling out of the gas station nearby the scene right before the shooting and officers were able to get the car's license plate number.

According to court records, Grant's bond is set to $1,000,000 for the murder charge.

Houston man exonerated in connection to 2012 murder

FOX 26 Reporter Natalie Hee has reaction from Lydell Grant, the man who was convicted of murder in 2012, who was exonerated by by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals.

In 2012, Grant was convicted for stabbing 28-year-old Aaron Scheerhoorn to death outside a Montrose bar in 2010 due to mistaken eyewitness identifications. However, after serving nine years in prison, he was exonerated of the charge and declared innocent in May 2021 after a DNA analysis

MORE: Houston man convicted of murder in 2012 declared 'actually innocent'

The Innocence Project of Texas took on Grant's case and found that at his original trial, the prosecutor’s DNA expert mistakenly and inaccurately testified that Grant could not be excluded as the contributor of the DNA found under the stabbing victim’s fingernails. The project said new DNA testing, which included recent testing done by the Texas Department of Public Safety's lab in Houston, confirmed that the trial testimony in 2012 presented by the prosecutors was inaccurate and false and that Grant is completely excluded as the contributor.

The DNA evidence linked back to Jermarico Carter who was arrested for Scheerhoorn's murder in Georgia. Carter reportedly confessed to the murder and was also wanted on a number of other charges in Georgia.

The Innocent Project of Texas shared this statement:

"We are saddened by the news of this tragic event and our thoughts and sympathies go out to the victim’s family. As this is an ongoing investigation, we cannot comment on the specifics of this incident.

We stand behind Mr. Grant’s previous exoneration. DNA evidence and the confession of the real perpetrator of the crime proved Mr. Grant’s actual innocence. His 2012 conviction was proven wrongful, and he spent eight years in prison as a result.

The important work of supporting innocent people wrongly convicted of crimes is an essential part of our collective work towards a better and more just society, and we remain committed to that goal."

Crime and Public Safety Houston