A Cypress-area man, who killed a high school friend in a late-night shooting, was sentenced to 40 years in prison on Friday.
James Michael Sotelo, 21, received the sentence from a judge for the murder of Corey Thompson, a high school friend who was staying at the Sotelo family home on March 20, 2021. At the time of the shooting, Sotelo was an 18-year-old high school dropout and the victim was 17 years old.
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Sotelo fired a 9mm semi-automatic handgun at least 13 times as Thompson was trying to go to bed around 3 a.m. The Harris County Sheriff’s Office responded to the scene and found Thompson was hit at least 11 times, several in the back. One bullet also went through the bedroom wall and struck Sotelo’s brother in the face while he slept. The brother survived, and Sotelo was also convicted of deadly conduct for shooting him.
“There was absolutely no reason for this cold-blooded murder, so we know this man is a danger to the community,” Ogg said in a press release. “In fact, after he was freed on bond for murder, he continued his criminal ways and was rearrested for carrying a gun.”
Assistant District Attorney Kyle Tucker prosecuted the case in a six-day trial in November. After the jury convicted Sotelo, he opted to have his punishment determined by the judge following a pre-sentence investigation. Eight months later, during a hearing on Friday, the judge sentenced Sotelo to 40 years in prison for the murder and two years for the deadly conduct. These sentences will run concurrently.
“According to the defendant, he wasn’t intoxicated or under the influence of any drugs, which makes deliberately pulling the trigger 13 times that much worse,” Tucker said in a press release. “We asked the judge for a sentence of at least 50 years because this defendant doesn’t care about what he did, he did not have any remorse for the victim and there weren’t any mitigating factors.”
Sotelo must serve at least half of the prison sentence before he will be eligible for parole.