Man sentenced for killing former high school classmate at Atascocita Football Field
ATASCOCITA, Texas - A Houston man has been given a 50-year prison sentence for killing a former high school classmate during a gathering with old friends in Atascocita.
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The Harris County District Attorney's Office said Jaqwaun Pradia, 22, killed Eric Willis, 19, back in March 2020. Willis and several other former students met at the high school football field to play in a friendly seven-on-seven game.
Jaqwaun Pradia (Photo courtesy of Harris County DA's Office)
Witness testimony and surveillance video showed Pradia was driven to the field, jumped out of the vehicle, and charged the field, where he shot the 19-year-old at least four times, killing him.
Assistant DA Amanda Benavidez, a chief in the trial bureau who prosecuted the case said there was no motive shared on why Pradia killed Willis despite him testifying.
"It may have been things that happened while they were in high school, and it was probably just one-sided, but we’ll probably never really know the reason," she said. "The defendant had the opportunity to explain this senseless killing when he testified, and he didn’t."
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Before he was murdered, Willis played wide receiver at a junior college and was expected to play football for a university in Oklahoma later that Fall.
"He was supposed to have a career, a family, and great life, but none of that will happen now because of what the defendant did," she said.
Eric Willis (Photo courtesy of Harris County DA's Office)
"Far too often we see disagreements, arguments and fights escalate into murders because someone wants to start shooting," District Attorney Kim Ogg added. "This young man had a promising future — he had just signed with a university to go play football — and his life was ended in an instant because of a gun. We work hard every day not just to get justice for the families, but to try to end gun violence."