HOUSTON – The second of two men responsible for the 2018 drive-by shooting death of 7-year-old Jazmine Barnes has been sentenced to 30 years in prison for murder, Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg announced Thursday.
Eric Black pleaded guilty to murder earlier this year in a plea deal that capped his possible sentence at 35 years in prison in exchange for testifying against his co-defendant, Larry Demetricus Woodruffe.
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Woodruffe, 27, was sentenced to life in prison without parole after being convicted of capital murder in April by a Harris County jury for killing the young girl on Dec. 30, 2018.
On Thursday, visiting state District Judge Vanessa Velasquez sentenced Black.
“Jazmine Barnes’ death was a tragic and heartbreaking example of needless and pointless gun violence, and she and her family deserved justice and they got justice,” Ogg said.
Jazmine and three of her siblings were passengers in their mother’s Dodge Avenger and were driving near their home in northeast Harris County. Woodruffe was riding in a car driven by Black when Woodruffe opened fire on the family’s vehicle. Woodruffe and Black apparently thought the car belonged to a rival. Jazmine was struck by bullets and died. Her mother was wounded by a bullet to the shoulder.
“For the family of Jazmine Barnes, we’re grateful that we finally reached a resolution that’s just,” said Assistant District Attorney Alycia Harvey, who prosecuted the case.
The Harris County Sheriff’s Office investigated.