On Monday, Angelo Britton was sentenced to 35 years in prison after an eight-day trial.
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Britton shot and killed his friend Edward Gray, a 43-year-old father, on May 12, 2022. It remains unclear why Britton killed Gray that day.
A representative of Gray's family who gave a victim impact statement after the sentencing called Britton a "monster masquerading as a friend."
The Harris County District Attorney's Office said on the day of the murder, the two friends were riding around in Britton's silver sedan and pulled over because of an apparent mechanical problem.
The men got out of the vehicle to take a look at the problem on an overpass at Beltway 8 and Interstate 10 East at about 11 p.m.
Attorneys said that's when Britton suddenly shot Gray once through the heart, got back into his car, and left.
Witnesses who heard the gunshot and drivers reportedly saw Gray's body and all called the police.
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Deputies with the Harris County Sheriff's Office recovered surveillance video from a home nearby, showing the car stopping at the underpass.
A receipt in Gray's pocket showed that he had been at a convenience store earlier in the day. Sheriff's detectives interviewed the clerk and obtained video of him getting into Britton's car.
The DA said tracking data from Britton's cellphone showed where the two men had driven, including stopping at the underpass.
Britton was later charged with murder and arrested. At the time of the murder, he was on deferred adjudication probation for aggravated assault.
"This defendant didn't just take all of the years that Edward Gray had ahead of him," Assistant District Attorney Jay Gordon said. "He took a father away from a teenage son, who will now go through all of the milestones of his life without a father."
Britton must serve at least half of the prison sentence before he will be eligible for parole.