Federal charges filed against 18-year-old in fatal Heights carjacking

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- The teen accused of fatally shooting a 61-year-old woman during a carjacking in the Heights on Friday will now face federal charges.

The U.S. Attorney's Office announced Tuesday it plans to file federal firearm and carjacking charges against 18-year-old Darius Hall in the shooting death of Marietta Allison.

"The vehicle involved was manufactured outside the state, which establishes the connection to interstate commerce necessary for federal jurisdiction," a U.S. Attorney's Office spokesperson told Eyewitness News in an emailed statement.

It's a fairly rare move given Hall is already facing a capital murder charge in connection with Allison's death.

Federal prosecutors didn't bring charges against Kyliel Arceneaux in the 2024 fatal carjacking of 90-year-old Navy veteran Nelson Beckett outside a southwest Houston care home. Like Hall, Arceneaux is facing a capital murder charge in state court.

"We cannot comment on matters that are not currently the subject of federal charges," the U.S. Attorney's Office told Eyewitness News when asked why it hadn't brought charges in connection with Beckett's murder as well as similar cases.

Allison had just dropped off her friend, Cassie Daniel, at a friend's home on 20th Street in the Heights Friday night when police said Hall shot her in the neck and stole her car before crashing in a police pursuit and barricading himself inside a vacant townhome.

Daniel welcomed the news of federal charges.

"I think that's really important," she told Eyewitness News. "I mean, for a long time, Harris County, this catch-and-release policy has not been working."

Records show Hall himself is currently on probation for a slew of crimes he committed as a juvenile, including aggravated robbery, aggravated assault, and evading arrest.

"It kind of sounds like he did everything but kill someone up to that point," said Daniel.

Even killing someone doesn't guarantee a severe punishment.

Eyewitness News analyzed 1,034 murder and capital murder cases prosecuted in Harris County since 2022.

According to data from the district attorney's office, just three, or less than one percent, resulted in the death penalty. Another 141, or 13 percent, resulted in a sentence of life imprisonment.

The vast majority of cases resulted in a sentence of between 21 and 50 years in prison.

Only a quarter of cases ever made it to trial. A total of 776 were pled out, the data showed.

"I think it's just being done as a safeguard," former federal judge Vanessa Gilmore said of the federal charges announced Tuesday.

Gilmore said federal prosecutors may have concerns that the state's capital murder case could collapse and that Hall could end up with a more lenient sentence on a lesser charge.

"If that happened, then the prosecutor might want to have the option of handing the case over to the federal prosecutors, which would result in a case with a much higher range of punishment," she said.

The federal firearm and carjacking charges each carry the possibility of life in prison. The death penalty is also on the table for the carjacking charge.

Unlike with state cases, there's no possibility for parole in the federal system.

"I'm thankful that the federal government is taking an interest," said Daniel. "I'm thankful that they also are investigating the case, and so if something does happen in Harris County, that we have another avenue for justice to be served."

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