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Antonio ‘AJ’ Armstrong appointed public defender after being found indigent as process of appeal begins

First look at AJ Armstrong since receiving his life sentence

HARRIS COUNTY, Texas – Antonio Armstrong Jr., who was found guilty in the murder of his parents and sentenced to life on Wednesday, was in court Friday as he moves forward in the appeals process.

SEE ALSO: Antonio ‘AJ’ Armstrong Jr. found guilty of murdering parents, sentenced to life in prison

Armstrong, again, appeared in Judge Kelli Johnson’s courtroom at 9:30 a.m.

This time, Armstrong wasn’t in his typical tailored suit, but instead, in an orange prison jumpsuit with the words ‘COUNTY JAIL’ on the back.

He was seen entering the courtroom, shackled around his waist, and believed to have locked eyes with his wife, Kate while being escorted out.

On Friday, Judge Johnson declared Armstrong as indigent, meaning that he currently lacks the proper funds necessary to either hire his own lawyer on appeal or to purchase the voluminous trial records needed.

Armstrong’s case was assigned to two public defenders.

The night before, KPRC 2 received A.J.’s new mugshot from inside the Harris County Jail.

New Mugshot Antonio ‘AJ’ Armstrong expected to return to court Friday (Copyright 2023 by KPRC Click2Houston - All rights reserved.)

On Wednesday, the 23-year-old was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 40 years. This was the third capital murder trial for A.J. as the first two ended in mistrials.

Back in 2016, A.J.’s parents, Dawn and Antonio Sr. were shot to death while lying in their bed at the family’s home in southwest Houston.

The 12 jurors deliberated for around 9 to 10 hours in total on Tuesday and Wednesday. Seven men and five women were in the jury pool.

In this third trial, jurors heard from a total of 31 witnesses and saw an abundance of evidence in the case.

During week one, the state took up all five days, speaking to more than 20 witnesses and showcasing hundreds of text messages between A.J., his parents and his girlfriend, which showed him lying, setting a fire at his home, getting in trouble at school, sneaking out of the house, making bad grades and smoking marijuana.

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