Memphis – “I shot him out of meanness.” “I shot him for getting into my beer.”
These statements resonated through the Hall County Courthouse last Thursday, September 11, when District Attorney Luke Inman began his closing during the guilt/innocence phase of the Harold “Bud” Ham murder trial.
Shortly thereafter, the Hall County jury convicted and sentenced Ham to 99 years in the Institutional Division of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, along with a $5,000 fine.
“The Hall County jury got this one 100 percent correct.” said Inman. “I know our office, local law enforcement agencies, and especially the victim’s family were pleased with the verdict and sentencing of the defendant.”
The murder of Darrell Randall took place on August 15, 2008, in Turkey. Randall’s cause of death was three gunshot wounds to the head, two of which were nonfatal.
Ham was arrested that night for the first degree felony offense and was later indicted by the Hall County Grand Jury on November 17, 2008. The trial was continued twice due to pending lab results, which were completed at the end of June.
“We could not have obtained such a good result without the great investigative work that was conducted on this case.” said Inman. “Ex-Sheriff Earnest Neil and Chief Deputy Tom Heck did a fantastic job in securing the crime scene, with Texas Ranger Marshall Thomas providing experienced assistance as the crime scene investigator.”
Inman prosecuted the case, with the Honorable Judge Stuart Messer presiding.
In other district court news, two cases with Donley County ties were recently heard.
The court heard a plea from Rickey Lewis Row on September 3 in Memphis, which resulted in a conviction.
Row was placed on probation for a period of ten years for the second degree felony offense of possession of controlled substance. Row was convicted and sentenced to ten years in the Institutional Division of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, but the sentence was probated for a period of ten years.
Row was arrested in Donley County on July 29, 2009. Row pleaded guilty to a complaint and information filed by the State. Pursuant to the plea agreement, Row is required to pay a $6,000 fine to Donley County, pay $140 in restitution and $465 in court costs.
The court met in Childress on August 19 and heard a plea from Kyle Davis Murray, who pleaded guilty to two offenses, receiving deferred adjudication on both second degree felony offenses for burglary of a habitation.
Murray was arrested for burglary of a habitation on June 8, 2009, for the offenses that took place May 27, 2009 and June 3, 2009. Murray was indicted for both offenses by a Donley County Grand Jury on June 22, 2009.
Pursuant to the plea agreement, Murray is required to pay a $4,000 fine to Donley County, pay $22,000 in restitution and $780 in court costs. If Murray violates probation, he could face up to 20 years in the Institutional Division of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.
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